Strata Industry Excellence Awards 2022

On Friday 11 November, the SCA (Vic) Pillar Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner was held.

Hosted at the Pullman Melbourne on the Park, the evening was a celebration of those who make a significant contribution to the strata industry and community, from Managers to suppliers and everything in between. We would like to send our congratulations to all finalists and nominees in this year’s awards.

The Knight were proud finalists in seven categories this year (click the category to learn more about the award and our nominees):

It is with excitement and shock we share that we came away as winners in six categories, including taking out the Large Business award for the fourth year running!

We are so proud of the hard work and commitment shown by our team this year, in what has proven another challenging year for the industry. We now turn our minds to 2023, and look forward to continuing to push for a more professional, ethical and respected strata industry.

Strata Community Manager Rising Star – Georgia Anderson – Finalist

This category recognises a new entrant to the industry who has shown outstanding progress early in their career.

We were proud to nominate Owners Corporation Manager, Georgia Anderson. Georgia has been with The Knight just over a year, and in that time made huge strides in her career, including taking on larger, high profile properties, receiving consistently high committee ratings, and even hosting a committee training webinar on Committee Governance.

Congratulations Georgia on being a finalist in this year’s awards.

Essay Award – Sim Firns – Winner

This award recognises an individual who displays a sound understanding of the topic and its relevance to the strata community industry.

Sim Firns submitted an essay titled “It’s all part of the service” exploring the effects of burnout and the importance of a supportive team culture within management firms. In her essay, Sim highlights the different ways in which we can support our peers, and how strata employees and businesses can take control of a sometimes uncontrollable role.

We are so pleased for Sim to be recognised as the winner of this category.

Support Team Member – Ella Sheldon – Winner

This award recognises a person behind the scenes in a management or supplier business who has made an outstanding contribution to the success of their team.

Ella Sheldon has transformed the marketing of our company during her time at The Knight. New to the sector when she commenced with us, she has dedicated her time to learning about strata. She has taken this and turned it into a passion for educating our clients with digestible and well produced content. She is known for her collaborative approach, innovative ideas and commitment to the business.

We are so proud of Ella for being recognised for her contributions and excited to see what more she will achieve.

Strata Community Manager – Dianne Burton – Winner

This award recognises a strata community manager who has demonstrated excellence in customer service, a commitment to professional development, business acumen and innovative ideas.

Dianne Burton has been with The Knight since 2014, and over her 8-year tenure has consistently been a top-performing, results-focused Owners Corporation Manager. In recent times, Dianne has taken on the role of mentor, sharing her expertise of our systems with new staff, and helping ensure the success of the next generation of Managers.

As a quiet achiever – someone who simply puts her head down and gets to work, day in, day out – we are delighted for Dianne to receive this well-earned recognition.

Strata Community Environmental & Engagement Award – Urban Coup, Brunswick – Winner

This award recognises a strata manager and a strata scheme that worked together to reduce their impact on the environment by means of sustainability initiatives and projects and/or are utilising products and services that have positive environmental outcomes.

Urban Coup is a unique and inspiring community within the Nightingale project, Nightingale Village. Sustainability and Community are deeply engrained in the ethos of this property,  so to nominate it for this category was an obvious choice. The resident group were involved from the very beginning, collaborating with the builder and developer on the design. Urban Coup apartments are highly energy efficient and gas-free, boasting solar panels, double glazing, natural ventilation and energy efficient fans. Common spaces were designed by residents and include multipurpose rooms for music, workshops, crafts and a shared kitchen where residents share weekly meals, taking turns to cook.

Congratulations to this innovative and committed community, and Owners Corporation Manager, Alex Smale for taking out this category.

Excellence in Innovation Award – The Knight – Winner

This award recognises businesses that have made significant contributions to the industry through the introduction or improvement of an idea, method, technology, process or application.

We were excited to highlight our ‘Unlocking Sustainable Strata‘ project for this submission; a joint venture between The Knight and HIP V. HYPE, with funding provided by the City of Moreland and City of Yarra. Unlocking Sustainable Strata is designed to accelerate the uptake of sustainability retrofits within existing strata properties.

The project is the embodiment of all our company values, including teamwork, client focus, integrity and accountability and represents our desire to improve the industry, not just for the benefit of our own clients, but all those who live in strata buildings across Australia.

Thank you to the HIP V. HYPE team for their partnership in this program and to the Owners Corporations who have taken part so far, we are proud to have this exciting project recognised in this way.

Large Strata Community Management Business – The Knight – Winner

This award recognises a large-scale strata community management business that has devised and implemented strategies for service excellence with a focus on staff training, professional conduct and innovation.

Our submission highlighted the efforts we have made over the past 12 months to protect and improve the health & wellbeing of our team, bolster the support available to our staff and evolve our sustainability ethos.

We are so humbled to be awarded this category for the fourth year in a row, and wish to thank our entire team for lending us their passion, talent and hard work in order to help realise our vision.

RELATED – Business Award hat trick plus 3 further Excellence Awards in 2021 >