Congratulations to Melissa Aguasa, Melissa Filipino Shop – Winner of BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD at the 30th Belmont & Western Australian Small Business Awards
In front of an audience of over 400 attendees, Melissa Aguasa from Melissa Filipino Shop was one of the many Western Australian small business winners in the 30th Belmont & Western Australian Small Business Awards 2023 on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. Held in the grand ballroom of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, the ‘Night of Stars Event’ celebrated excellence in business and community achievement.
The welcome address was delivered by City of Belmont Deputy Mayor Cr Deborah Sessions, together with our MC’s for the evening, Member for Belmont, Cassie Rowe MLA, and Belmont BEC Inc. Patron Louise Percy. The night’s entertainment was provided by Kaylene Taylor, with welcome to country performed by Dadajaal Daniel and Johnny Garlett.
Many VIP guests were in attendance including; Member for Swan, Zaneta Mascarenhas MP; Member for South Perth, Geoff Baker MLA; Consulate General of Viet Nam in Perth, Consul Thao Vu; Honorary Consul Slovak Republic in WA, Paul Faix; Honorary Consul Republic of Mauritius, Ian Whitaker; Honorary Consul Philippines, Virma Symons; Honorary Consul Sri Lanka WA, Rosh Jalagge; City of Belmont Councillors Cr Phil Marks, Cr Bernie Ryan, Cr Tamak Vijay; City of Cockburn, Deputy Mayor, Cr Chontelle Stone; Belmont BEC Chair Jules Lewin; TCFWA, Chair, Irving Lane; Business & Professional Women Australia, National President Jacqueline Graham, BPW WA State President Kate Waters, BPW Perth President Lynne Doyle, BPW Belmont President Deggi Altangerel; Hong Kong Australia Business Association WA, President Winnie Lai Hadad; Philippines Business Council WA, Jenny Ryall; National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka, Kapila De Silva; Racing & Wagering WA, Catherine Ferrari; Western Australian Racehorse Owners Association, Mark Luzi; Perth Racing, Ryan Crowley; Young Afghan Leaders, Chair Maria Aziz; Presidents from Rotary Club Ascot, Rotary Club Belmont, and the Rotary Club Welshpool.
The Designer Showcase Fashion Parade for 2023 featured stunning designs from visiting Filipino designer Eleven S and WA designers Silver Star Designs, Jilaga Designs, Kirrikin and Miss Scarlett with models from Metro Agency.
When winner Melissa Aguasa, the owner, and Manager of Melissa's Filipino Shop, first arrived in Perth she worked odd jobs and put her savings towards helping her husband pay the bills and save for her business idea. After putting in many hard years, the opportunity came up for her to own her own supermarket, bakery, and restaurant. Today, Melissa's Filipino Shop is a community friendly hub for Filipinos in WA, stocking a wide range of affordable products.
Melissa says, “I believe that an integral part of the business is social responsibility and proudly give back to my community where I can.”
Melissa Aguasa from Melissa’s Filipino Shop was also inducted into Belmont & Western Australian Small Business Awards 2023 ‘Hall of Fame’. Her past awards included the 2021 Business Migrant of the Year Award and 2022 Innovation & Creativity Award.
Supporting this award in 2023 is Flintel; a successful WA-based Communications company. Flintel deliver quality internet & telephony service for their business clients nationally, offering a full technical team to support your internet service, with an incomparable customer focus Flintel is the preferred supplier to Business. Tailored solutions offer customers fast, reliable, internet connectivity.
CEO Carol Hanlon said, “Celebrating our 30th anniversary in 2023 is both an amazing and proud achievement for the organisation. Now in its 30th year, our Small Business Awards are an exciting event on the calendar that provides well-earned acknowledgements to those Western Australian businesses striving for excellence in business and community achievements. We sincerely thank the valuable support from our Category Sponsors which make this amazing small business event possible, in particular our Major Sponsor the City of Belmont for their long-term support.”
For further details on all winners of the 30th Belmont & Western Australian Small Business Awards 2023 visit www.belmontbec.com/awards
Contact Profile
30th Belmont & Western Australian Small Business Awards
Major Sponsors
The City of Belmont is a vibrant, modern City located just six kilometres from Perth CBD. The City is a thriving network of economic growth and development opportunities and is located in one of the most significant logistics hubs in the region. The City’s most significant community infrastructure project Belmont Hub opened in 2020. This state-of-the-art facility with integrated services continues to consolidate its position in the City centre. Belmont’s prime location provides opportunities for economic and community development in our City and has attracted new families and businesses of varying sizes and across a range of industries. These communities have made Belmont their home to live, work and invest. www.belmont.wa.gov.au
Belmont BEC | BEC National | BEC Global is a non-profit community organisation established in 1994, providing training and mentoring support services to over 33,000+ individuals in Belmont, WA & Australia to start or improve their small business and is a specialist in virtual business incubation. Belmont BEC has originated a large range of well-known projects and programs for the benefit of its small business clients that have included the annual Belmont & Western Australian Small Business Awards, Designedge Innovation Festival, TCF Resource Centre WA, Multicultural Business Support Services, WA Racing Industry Project, Belmont Clothes Library, Count Me IN Disability Employer Awareness, MY Business Incubator Cyber Security Training & Mentoring, BPW Business Incubator Women in Business Training & Mentoring Project and the BEC National Export Training & Mentoring Project. www.belmontbec.com www.becnational.com/export www.bpwbusinessincubator.com/bec
www.mybusinessincubator.com.au
TCFWA | TCF Australia | TCF Global is a non-profit industry association established in 1998, assisting over 6,000+ designers and fashion industry small businesses with fashion business skill development including MY Fashion Incubator migrant small business projects, TCF Australia Export Training & Mentoring Project, designedge Innovation festival, sustainable fashion & circular economy topics, linkages in the global supply chain, international trade missions and industry networks. www.tcfwa.com www.tcfaustralia.com/export www.tcfglobal.com www.myfashionincubator.com
Carol Hanlon
P: 08 9479 3777
W: www.belmontbec.com
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