OUR HISTORY
During the inaugural year of the Townsville Businesswomen’s Network, Christine Soltero was the President and Alison Wenck Vice President with Maxine Amos, Sian Watt, Julie Dunlap, Lorraine Adams, Penelope-Ann Sullivan, Hilary Hahn, the balance of the inaugural committee plus lots of assistance from many of the proactive members such as Lorraine Marshall, Jacquie Purse, Darienne Davis & Merle Magill, & Jo-Ann Fitchett who ended up being seconded to the committee due to the demand. The initial committee positions were held by businesswomen who’s daily work mirrored their committee positions. This enabled the Network to get off to a flying start, with Cocktails [Drink, laugh, relax, gossip, listen, brag, sign & smile nights] on alternate Tuesday nights, lunches, breakfast and dinners with partners plus business workshops all forming part of the networks monthly activities.
In 1991 Sara Henderson, Australian Business Woman of the Year was our first national Key Note Speaker at our AGM & Gala Dinner, attended by Townsville business sector both women and men. Sara was indeed inspirational and set a benchmark for future Gala Events for the network.
In 1995 under the leadership of Marie Orchard we saw the inaugural Townsville Businesswomen of the Year Awards which has become our premier event and is held annually to celebrate the achievements of women in business. The Award started with two categories, the Businesswoman of the Year and the Corporate Businesswoman of the Year.
In October 1998, under the leadership of Lu Kealley the Townsville Businesswomen’s Network became an incorporated body, reflecting the wishes of our members and acknowledging our legal responsibilities to both the community and our membership. In 1999 the first "Info Exchange Trade Show" was held. The "Info Exchange" allowed members to promote their products and service not only to fellow members but also to the general public.
In 2002 , with the continued growth of our membership base and under the leadership of Michelle Morton the Network employed a part time administration manager to manage the day to day administration of the network, a role that continues to this day.
In 2004 under the leadership of Jayne Arlett corporate memberships were introduced for larger businesses. This enabled businesses to have fully transferable membership between their staff. The Emerging Businesswoman of the Year category was added to the existing categories in the Townsville Businesswomen of the Year Awards. It also saw the first Business Excellence Award presented.
In 2005 under the leadership of Debbie Giudes we saw the introduction of Student Membership to full-time students to help them with the transition from full time study to the workforce. The Townsville Businesswomen of the Year Awards celebrated their 10th anniversary. In 2007 the Network's Awards underwent a massive re-structure. It's name was changed to "Businesswomen of the Year Awards" as the Awards were opened up to women in neighbouring regions from Home Hill in the south, west to Charters Towers and north to Lucinda. Another 2 categories were also added, the New Challenge Award and the Judges' Encouragement Award. The Judges' of the Awards initiated this last category in 2006 after deciding that while one of the applicants didn't quite meet the criteria to become a finalist, she deserved to be recognised.
2007-2008 under the leadership of Penelope-Ann Sullivan the Business Woman Awards were renamed "Nth Qld Businesswomen Awards" in line with the expansion of the awards into the regional areas. Events were scheduled on alternate months with both Luncheons and cocktail events being available for members. Also introduced were Showcase Marketing tables at each luncheon allowing member to market their business to other attendees. New Members Events were also run during the year to introduce new members to the benefits available to them and to assist them in their Networking skills. In 2010 TBWN moved to introduce a new "Lunch and Learn" program with Key Note Speakers speaking on various Professional topics during the luncheon. Business After 5 events were reserved for Networking Acitivies -'speed networking', and the introduction of Mastermind Pier groups became part of the annual calendar for Members of the Network.