ICC Sydney, Sydney Showground and eTechSuite among the winners at EEAA Awards

International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), Sydney Showground and event technology company eTechSuite and were among the winners at last night’s 2022 Exhibition and Event Association Australasia (EEAA) Awards for Excellence.

ICC Sydney was recognised across three categories at the Awards. The venue’s corporate social responsibility leadership and implementation of its effective Waste Management Plan won the Sustainability Initiative of the year.

Jimmy Kadwa, senior manager, event operations at ICC Sydney, was celebrated as the Unsung Hero for his contribution to the exhibition and events community for over 20 years, while Jack Weatherby-Fell, ICC Sydney’s senior event manager, was awarded the Richard Geddes Young Achiever Award.

“ICC Sydney’s success as Australia’s premier convention, exhibition and entertainment venue reflects our team members, such as Jimmy and Jack,” said ICC Sydney CEO Geoff Donaghy.

“We are immensely proud of their individual achievements and contribution to ICC Sydney as we work to deliver our premium services – from audio visual to culinary services, event management, sustainability and beyond.”

Domenic Genua, EEAA’s CEO, congratulated the ICC Sydney team on the raft of accolades.

“My great appreciation goes to ICC Sydney for their partnership with the EEAA, enabling the Association to deliver this series of industry events,” he said.

Sydney Showground scooped Best Venue Team while eTechSuite took home the Digital Innovation Award.

Sydney Showground was recognised for their work on the 2021 Sydney Royal Easter Show, which was the largest ticketed event to occur globally since the pandemic began in 2020.

“The Show was an incredibly challenging event for our team, it ran at a time when no other large-scale events had occurred since the pandemic began, and as a venue and organiser, there was no roadmap to follow,” said Sydney Showground general manager Darryl Jeffrey.

“We put everything we had into bringing this event to life, so to be recognised for that hard work and innovation is extremely rewarding for our team. The Show is what it is due to the hundreds of staff that go the extra mile to make it happen, and this award is for them.”

eTechSuite has had a big year having collected and facilitated the review of 17,462 abstracts, full papers, digital posters, awards and presentation submissions in eOrganiser across all its 2022 events worldwide.

General manager Marcel van Egdom said the eTechSuite team were honoured to be recognised for their expertise and creativity.

“This award recognises our innovative technology and its flexibility in achieving a wide range of client objectives,” he said.

The full winners of the 2022 Awards for Excellence are below.

Organisation Awards:

• Best Consumer Show – The Good Food And Wine Show ‐ Sydney 2022, Talk2 Media & Events
• Best Trade Show (Under 10,000m2) – Queensland Mining and Engineering Expo, RX Australia
• Best Trade Show (Over 10,000m2) – Decor + Design 2022 ‐ Informa Connect Australia,Informa Australia
• Best Association Event – afac22 Powered By Interschutz, Hannover Fairs Australia
• Best Custom Stand – e&s Trading Stand At Interiors Australia & DENFAIR 2022, Harry the hirer
• Most Outstanding Marketing Campaign – Online Retailer Conference & Expo 2022, RX Australia
• Best New Product or Service – Smart Badge, Harry the hirer
• Best Show Team – The Good Food And Wine Show 2022, Talk2 Media & Events
• Best Venue Team – Sydney Showground
• Best Supplier, Product or Service – Harry the hirer
• Sustainability Initiative Award – International Convention Centre Sydney
• Digital Innovation Award – eTechSuite
• Best Overall Show – Queensland Mining and Engineering Expo, RX Australia

Individual Awards:

• Richard Geddes Emerging Leader – Jack Weatherby-Fell, International Convention Centre Sydney
• Unsung Hero – Jimmy Kadwa, International Convention Centre Sydney

EEAA also presented the Trevor Riddell Presidents Award to Rod Peter and Spiro Anemogiannis. Appreciation Awards were presented to Business Events Australia and International Convention Centre Sydney, while Jo-Anne Kelleway and Peter King were awarded Life Memberships.

“The Conference and Awards Dinner were a great reminder of how far we have come,” said Genua.

“Huge congratulations to our award winners and also the finalists, you’re all very deserving of recognition for your ability to deliver even in the most challenging circumstances.”