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New Zealand’s entertainment and venue industry has recognised its high achievers of 2016 with the Entertainment Venues Association of New Zealand (EVANZ) Awards Dinner seeing the presentation of accolades to winners in nine award categories as well as two supreme awards.

Christchurch, New Plymouth, Hamilton and Auckland all had winning entrants, with Darren Burden (pictured above) from Vbase in Christchurch winning two awards - Venue Executive and Supreme Venue Person.

This year the Contribution to Industry Award, recognising dedication and success within the industry, went to Neil Cox of the Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch – the venue receiving the Ticket Direct Supreme Venue of the Year Award.

Cox’s individual award recognised his contribution to resurrecting the Isaac Theatre Royal as a world class venue after the catastrophic earthquake of 2011 – bringing the theatre back to its rightful place as one of the best performing arts centres in the country.

In the Excellence section, for the Tompkins Wake Lawyers Excellence in Customer Service, Vbase in Christchurch scooped the award, with the iTicket Excellence in Innovation award going to H3 Group, Hamilton. In the final category Eden Park, Auckland took out the Health Promotion Agency Excellence in Venue Host Responsibility.

Within the Venue section, New Plymouth took the award for the Ticketmaster Large Venue with Yarrow Stadium, its multisport/purpose venue. The Eventfinda Small Venue winner is Q Theatre Auckland, who consistently does a great job of connecting audiences to the arts. The Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch wins the Evanz Medium Venue, being commended on their perseverance, initiative and tenacity over the past year, and also receives the Ticket Direct Supreme Venue of the Year Award, leading the way to achieving success in both venue and community.

In the final section of awards, focussed on People Sven Ladewig of the H3 Group Hamilton has been named as the Simpson Grierson Operations Manager of the Year. Darren Burden of Vbase in Christchurch wins not only Ticketek Venue Executive of the Year, but also the Priava Supreme Venue Person of the Year for exceptional leadership under duress and challenging circumstances. Chyna Phelan from Eden Park, Auckland, is the 2016 Priava Rising Star of the Year having shown solid commitment to her own growth and development and taking every opportunity to move forward in her career.

EVANZ acknowledged all entries for demonstrating the great wealth of talent and dedication within New Zealand’s events, entertainment and venue industry.

The EVANZ Venue AwardWinners for 2016 are:
 
EVANZ Contribution to Industry Award 
Recipient: Neil Cox, Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch (pictured)

 
EXCELLENCE SECTION
Tompkins Wake Lawyers Excellence in Customer Service
Winner: Vbase, Christchurch
 
iTicket Excellence in Innovation
Winner: H3 Group, Hamilton
 
Health Promotion Agency Excellence in Venue Host Responsibility
Winner: Eden Park, Auckland 
 
VENUE SECTION 
Ticketmaster Large Venue (+5,000 Seats)
Winner: Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth 
 
Evanz Medium Venue (1001-4999 Seats)
Winner: Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch 
 
Eventfinda Small Venue (1-1000 Seats)
Winner: Q Theatre, Auckland (pictured)

 
Ticket Direct Supreme Venue
Ticket Direct Supreme Venue of the Year Award (highest scoring nomination across the three venue awards - large, medium and small)
Winner: Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch 
 
PEOPLE SECTION
Ticketek Venue Executive of the Year
Winner: Darren Burden, Vbase, Christchurch 
 
Simpson Grierson Operations Manager of the Year
Winner: Sven Ladewig, H3 Group, Hamilton
 
Priava Rising Star of the Year
Winner: Chyna Phelan, Eden Park, Auckland
 
Priava Supreme Venue Person of the Year
Priava Supreme Venue Person of the Year (highest scoring nomination across the three people awards)
Winner: Darren Burden, Vbase, Christchurch

Images: Darren Burden of Vbase and Neil Cox of the Isaac Theatre Royal.

17th November 2016 - TWO YEARS AFTER REOPENING ISAAC THEATRE ROYAL CONTINUES TO ATTRACT RECOGNITION

17th November 2016 - EVANZ ANNOUNCES 2016 INDUSTRY AWARD FINALISTS

17th September 2016 - 2016 EVANZ CONFERENCE TO BE HELD AT CLAUDELANDS IN HAMILTON

27th February 2014 - NEW GENERAL MANAGER JOINS CHRISTCHURCH’S VBASE

11th August 2011 - DEMOLITION RECOMMENDED FOR MAJOR CHRISTCHURCH VENUES

7th March 2011 - BLEAK OUTLOOK FOR CHRISTCHURCH’S QEII PARK COMPLEX

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