Wellington Gold Awards

GOLD NEVER SLEEPS !
Preparing the Gold Awards every year is a round the calendar programme. We just wrap-up one year in July/August with the Mayoral presentations in each city and we start planning the next year straight away....

Here are 4 important dates for you to put in your 2027 diaries.

2027 ENTRIES OPEN: Monday 1st February
2027 ENTRIES CLOSE Wednesday 31st March
2027 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED Friday 7th May
THE POST 2027 GOLD AWARDS Thursday July 1st

BUT Nominations are open here 24/7/365
And yes, self- nomination is a thing.....so get yours in now!!
www.goldawards.co.nz

BILLY & KERI GRAHAM's CHAMPIONS INITIATIVE
WON 2026 MILLS ALBERT IMPACT GOLD

He's still getting GOLD 🏆
It was an honour to have Billy and Kerri Graham accept the IMPACT Award on behalf of Champions Initiative at the Wellington Gold Awards this year.

The link between the Wellington City Mission sending Mr Dunn to the Hutt Valley, Billy walking into the Railways Boxing Gym, and then establishing the Naenae Boxing Academy was clear to all. And the fact that three CI academies now exist in the Wellington region, was not lost on the mayors of those cities, in the audience.

We are very proud of the Champions initiative legacy.
Naenae Boxing Academy Wairarapa Boxing Academy Hastings Giants Boxing Academy Southern Queens Boxing Gym

Exhibition: "WHITTAKERS UNWRAPPED" @ PATAKA
120 Years of Delicious - don't miss it !!
Pātaka Art+Museum, Porirua
until 28th February 2027. Free entry

Whittakers is one of the winningest Gold Alum - with 4 Gold Trophies in their trophy cabinet - being:
2022 Global & supreme,
2024 Employers of the Year & Green Gold....

𝗜𝗼𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗼𝗻-𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮̄𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗲𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 | 9 Aug 2026, Rachel Healy
"Locally, we wanted to trace how 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽 – 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗿𝘂𝗮 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗽 and took Porirua-produced chocolate out into the world."
"Chocolate has a remarkable history; it spans thousands of years and touches on everything from Indigenous cultivation and global trade to industrialisation and contemporary questions around ethics and sustainability. 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗮 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗭𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱. Understanding how that came to be is the underpinning of our exhibition." - 𝘐𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘎𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘯-𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩.
Read more at the link below:
https://pataka.org.nz/news/whittakers-unwrapped-exhibition/
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯 8 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵 2026

Whittaker's Chocolate Lovers

Ioana Gordon-Smith unwraps the Whittaker's story in Pātaka exhibition It’s 130 years since James Henry Whittaker started his chocolate business in Christchurch, ahead of moving to the capital in 1911 to form J.H. Whittaker & Sons with two of his nine children, Ronald and James. To mark the anniversary, Pātaka Art+Museum in Porirua, home of Whittaker’s since 1969,...

The Post 2026 Gold Awards Winners #1: Mufftech

Five years ago, Simon Stone pulled off his earmuffs after a long day on a construction site and asked why the options were so bad. His wife told him to stop complaining and do something about it.

Founder Simon Stone (pictured) explains: "Three years of prototype development and real job-site testing with tradespeople later, Mufftech launched in 2023: premium Bluetooth hearing protection built by a tradie, for tradies, with serious audio quality to match."

What started as one man's fix for his own problem on a Kiwi work site is now sold in over 20 countries around the world, with the bulk of sales coming from international markets.

In just twelve months, Mufftech has gone from a local New Zealand operation to a genuinely global one.

Not bad for a complaint that finally found its answer.

Mufftech also win Emerging Gold -Products - for 10 or fewer fulltime employees

View MUFFTECH Video here: https://tinyurl.com/7vjzyk9a

www.mufftech.com
www.instagram.com/mufftechs

THE POST 2026 GOLD AWARDS EVENT PROGRAMME....Every year Blue Star New Zealand - our print partner - print a 40 page programme. Every Finalist is featured in this with a profile and photo of their lead person along with their links.

This programme provides a wonderful overview of and takeaway from the awards each year and gives us an opportunity to thank our Sponsors also.

THANK YOU Darren, Rob and the BLUESTAR Team !

VIEW the full 2026 programme here ... https://tinyurl.com/mpb5jdy2

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO JAMIE FRATER of Fraterworks. (2026 Global Gold)
Self taught Perfumier Jamie has just been selected as one of the 16 Finalists in 2026 EY Entrepreneur of the Year.

Jamie very cleverly pivoted from making perfume to wholesaling raw ingredients when he realised his vast catalogue (containing over 1,300 many highly sought-after and often arcane compounds was attracting some of the largest perfume houses in the world. All from a little warehouse in Lower Hutt.

We urge you to check out his amazing inventory here...
www.fraterworks.com

and the video here..
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/grantballot_the-best-brand-videos-dont-just-showcase-activity-7487985550889664512-B7zE/

Also a Finalist is Cynthia Hunefield of Evithe another biotech Entrepreneur.
www.evithe.com

Best of luck to both of our Class of 26 alum ...

Fraterworks — Raw Materials For Perfumers Beautifully crafted modern and classical perfumery bases, cutting edge aromachemicals and sublime naturals for cosmetics artisans and professionals.

2026 KĀPITI MAYORAL PRESENTATION
Last Wednesday Janet Holborow - Mayor of Kāpiti hosted a very buzzy presentation at the Kāpiti Coast District Council for the Kapiti Winner - Canopy Camping Escapes and Finalists We Love Local levo, Procure101 by Mox, Steam Incorporated and CyberTeam.

Many thanks to Mayor Janet, Karyn Andreassend and Darren Grant for hosting us again this year.