Finally, the extended Richardson & Wrench family could celebrate a year of achievements all under one roof for a glamorous night to remember.
The annual Awards of Excellence recognises and celebrates the accomplishments of R&W’s finest as well as the incredible dedication of support teams. There was twice the reason to party at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney this year after the pandemic caused the ceremony to be shelved for the past two years.
Thrilled to all reconnect again, the room was buzzing with fantastic energy as the greater R&W network toasted each other’s successes and outstanding results, both on and off the main stage. Nine-piece musical group, High Rollers Big Band, set the tone for the evening which wrapped up with plenty of people left on the dance floor.
R&W Managing Director Andrew Cocks said the highly-anticipated awards night was a reminder of what an incredibly successful, supportive and fun-loving group the R&W network is.
“While the last couple of years have been a challenging period in many ways, our network has risen to the occasion and demonstrated incredible results,” he said.
On the night, the highly coveted Director’s Award went to Chris Virgona, principal of Richardson & Wrench Strathfield.
“Each year this is awarded to one of our valued business owners who exemplifies what it means to be part of the brand, reflect the group’s values, and operates their business to the highest standards. Chris has most definitely demonstrated this throughout his time with the group,” Mr Cocks said.
Mr Virgona added that he was thrilled to receive the award, especially when surrounded by such a supportive professional team.
“I feel very honoured and very proud in equal parts. I have always felt lucky and privileged to be part of the R&W family. I’ve been associated with many great people in the network in my 36 years as a franchisee. I can honestly say, I count many of these people as my friends,” he said.
Amanda Ward, Head of Brand and Strategy for R&W, said the glamorous evening was like a long-awaited family reunion.
“The energy from everyone in the room that night was what made it such a wonderful event. Our people thrive off the friendships and connections they have within our wider network and after a two-year pause, we were finally able to celebrate together again in style.”
“The fact that we not only survived - but thrived - during lockdowns and social distancing hurdles shows that we are a resilient and talented team of hardworking professionals and we love to come together and party too.” she said.
The night also saw several other R&W team members receive top accolades. Among the list of honourable mentions was the Highest Selling Principal Award (income) which went to Jason Boon of the Elizabeth Bay/Potts Point office for a 15th year. The Highest Selling Principal Award (transactions) was awarded to Mark Lawler of R&W Coolum. Excellence in Property Management was awarded to the hardworking team at R&W St Clair.
However, the awards night is never just about the business of real estate. R&W is always keen to reflect on who is giving back to their local neighbourhood. Each year the Excellence in Community Service Award is presented to the team who demonstrates selfless contributions to their local community.
For 2022, the gong of generosity went to R&W Caboolture for their community work supporting a multitude of important causes such as Challenge DV; Black Dog; Rotary; Children’s cancer charities; Toy drives; local hospital donations and so much more. The Lachmund family – Peter, Robyn, Scott & Karen along with the whole Caboolture team continue to give of their time, passion and energy in support to these worthy charities with the office proudly donating over $1million back into their community over their 28 years of business.