Full list of 2023 Best of Bundaberg local business winners
As the year reaches an end, look back on the Best of Bundaberg winners from across the past year and meet the people locals trust for everything from coffee to electrical work and fitness.
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Throughout 2023 dozens of professionals across the Bundaberg region have been named by NewsMail readers as the region’s best and most trusted for everything from haircuts to cake decorating.
Among the year’s Best of Bundaberg awards, readers also had fun nominating and voting on the region’s cutest babies, the best Book Week outfits and even the hottest tradie of the Wide Bay Burnett.
As the year reaches its end, take a moment to look back on the nail biting voting, the joyful wins and find your next professional.
Bundaberg’s Best Hairdresser
It was an incredibly tight race to crown Bundaberg’s best hairdresser, with more than 300 readers nominating 70 hairdressers and more than 300 votes delivering a shock result in a joint winner.
Claire Mallows from the Place Hairdressing and Kala Duffy from Bella Donna Hair and Makeup tied with 8 per cent of the votes each.
Both hairdressers spoke on sharing the crown, with more than two decades of experience between them.
The owner of Bella Donna, Mrs Duffy said her love of the Bundaberg region contributed to her passion for hairdressing.
“I just love hairdressing,” she said.
“The people I have worked with over the years have been really good, and as the owner of the business for the past 17 years I have been able to pivot and grow in new directions.”
Claire Mallows of the Place Hairdressing shared a passion for the job, and being able to build people’s self confidence.
“I love making people feel good about themselves,” she said.
“They may just come in for a cut and colour but they leave with confidence in themselves again.”
Bundaberg’s Cutest Baby
The people of Bundaberg were treated to not one, but two cutest baby polls for 2023 to ensure all bubs born in the second half of the year had a chance to be nominated.
In April, more than 70 babies were nominated for the first poll of the year with Maverick Jason Alexander taking the crown with 14 per cent of the votes.
Proud mum Kaitlyn called Maverick her miracle baby, following several years of difficulty conceiving.
“He has changed our lives in more ways than you will ever know; always keeps us on our toes and smiles on our faces,” she said.
“After not giving up hope we now finally have our miracle baby born early but healthy.”
In November, readers had a little more trouble crowing a winner, with a tie-breaker poll needed to name Reef Day as Bundaberg’s cutest bub for the second half of the year.
Reef’s mother Coral Guest was overjoyed to learn Reef had won out of more than 80 tiny tots and said he can be “very cheeky”.
“When he knows that he did something wrong and you tell him, he’ll just laugh at you,” she said.
“It’s really great to know he’s one of the cutest babies in Bundaberg, it’s pretty crazy.”
Bundaberg’s Best Tattoo Artist
Choosing a tattoo is no easy task, with the artwork promising to stay with you for life.
Choosing a tattoo artist can be an even harder decision, with hundreds of talented artists across the state ready to make their mark, literally.
In June, more than 200 readers nominated their favourite tattoo artists for the Bundaberg region, with Sami Atkins of the Tattoo House Bundaberg taking out the top spot.
Sami Atkins came out with the crown after 26 per cent of votes backed her nomination in the poll.
Bundaberg’s Best Electrician
A Bundaberg couple were ecstatic to be crowned the team behind Bundaberg’s Best Electrician, when their business took out the title in July with 14 per cent of the votes.
Scott and Claire Glanville said they hoped that by being voted the region’s best electrician for 2023, their business would continue to grow and prosper.
“As a company, we are passionate about providing a professional, reliable and friendly service,” they said.
“We strive to keep up to date with the latest information, trends and technology as well as only offering top quality products.”
Bundaberg’s Best Beautician
In September, NewsMail readers voted entrepreneurial mother-of-three Vanessa Atkinson of Va’lure Beauty as Bundaberg’s Best Beautician of 2023.
Ms Atkinson took the win with 24 per cent of the vote and has spent the past decade building her skills and talents before opening her own business.
Her holistic approach to beauty and self confidence is a large part of her success, as she treats her clients as more than just a blank canvas.
“I look at it as I just want to help people,” Ms Atkinson said after receiving the good news.
“People might see my services as a ‘luxury’ but for me it’s so much more than that.”
“Even when I am doing a beauty service I am always in tune; I might say something to one of my clients and they’ll get to talking and can just release whatever is on their mind.”
Bundaberg’s Best Carpenter
The humble winner of the Bundaberg’s favourite carpenter thanked his boss and his colleagues for always having his back and building his poll-winning skills.
Ben Taylor from JRZ Homes Bundaberg amassed 39 per cent of the total votes, after entering the carpentry industry as part of a high school apprenticeship.
The 21-year-old said he knew from an early age he wanted to pursue a trade outside of high school, and enjoyed the rewards carpentry had to offer.
“Carpentry stood out the most because you can take pride in the final product, and watch it grow from start to finish,” he said.
He was grateful to the support of his JRZ team, and said the vibe of the workplace allowed him to become better and better every day.
“They’ve always had my back and are always easy to talk with,” he said.
“It’s not only the boss, but also everyone who works there, it’s like having mates that look out for you.”
Bundaberg’s Best Book Week Costume
August brought the joyful season that is Book Week, with children and school staff dressing up as their favourite literary heroes, villains and princesses.
More than 70 nominations were received for the delightful poll, with second place a three-way tie between Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Luca and Harlow dressed as Batman and Barbie, and in one of our youngest nominations 11-week old Macie wielding a wand as a very adorable Harry Potter.
But the clear winner was young Archie with an impressive monster costume from the children’s classic Where the Wild Things Are, complete with a terrifying mask and set of claws.
Archie took out 14 per cent of the votes, with the second place costumes each taking home 7 per cent of the votes.
Bundaberg’s Best Coffee
From espressos to latte’s everyone has their favourite coffee, and in June Bundaberg readers voted to crown the top coffee for the region.
Favours Coffee on Barolin Street was declared the winner, with the relatively new business on the local coffee scene taking out 19 per cent of the votes.
Favours Coffee head barrister Pete Mackenzie spoke for the owners when he said the coffee shop was grateful for the win.
“On behalf of the team at Favours we would like to thank the Bundaberg community for all its ongoing support,” he said.
“It’s an honour to be named Bundaberg’s best coffee shop, after only 12 months in business, and to be recognised for making ‘actually great coffee’.”
Wide Bay’s Hottest Tradie
In October readers from across the Wide Bay Burnett came together to nominate 35 of the region’s hottest tradie, with the resulting poll bringing in more than 400 votes.
Scoring a whopping 23 per cent of the votes Nanango sparky Elliot Mangan was crowned as the region’s hottest tradie.
Elliot became an apprentice electrician straight out of high school, chasing an apprenticeship in Brisbane before returning to his hometown.
The tradie has since gone on to open his own business, inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit his parents raised in him.
“I grew up with most of my family owning businesses, my mum and dad owning businesses, both my brothers owning a business, it just runs in the family,” he said.
“We’ve got an amazing crew, our team is amazing and our customer base is awesome.”
Bundaberg’s Best Cake Decorator
In November a 17-year-old entrepreneur was voted a clear winner in the Bundaberg’s best cake decorator poll taking out a whopping 29 per cent of the votes.
Keiarna Seymour of Cupcakes by K.Rose launched the business when she was just 14 years old, through the support of her family and a passion for baking.
She thanked the support of her cake community for crowning her, and said she was shocked by the polls outcome.
“I’m really grateful to everyone, all of my Facebook followers, customers and everyone who supports me,” Ms Seymour said.
“There’s so many talented cake makers in Bundaberg, I didn’t even think I had a chance.”
Bundaberg’s Best Gym
Aformer professional cage fighter with a passion for fitness revealed what makes Raw Awakening different when it was voted as Bundaberg’s best in July.
15 Bundaberg gyms were nominated for the poll, with more than 200 votes crowing Raw Awakening as the clear winner with 37 per cent of the votes.
Owner Tataina Quinn said the Quay St gym set itself apart for its disability access and affordability.
“A lot of the gyms were closed doors for members only, didn’t cater for disability and there was no kid programs happening,” she said.
“We wanted to start something that filled the gap and would bring affordability to the gym scene.”
The gym offers more than the typical workout space with activities outside of the gym including group hikes, kayaks, walks and camping trips.
“We are trying to keep it so everyone has got something to do, so if you don’t want to come lift weights, we could go hiking or kayaking,” Ms Quinn said.
Bundaberg’s Best Personal Trainer
The people of Bundaberg has voted for a clear winner in the 2023 Best Personal Trainer poll, with Adam Harford of Harford Health and Fitness taking out 41 per cent of the vote in September.
In a touching story, 22-year-old Adam has revealed the heartbreaking history behind his drive for health and fitness.
“Back in 2019, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, and battled through that for two and a half years of my life,” he said.
“Fitness got me through that.”
After battling his own demons and making it to full remission, Adam realised he could use his experience and passion to help those who had similar journeys to his own.
“I really wanted to dive into helping others and everyone goes through different forms of life-altering or life-threatening things,” he said.
Bundaberg’s Best Sports Coach
In October, a soccer coach with almost four decades of experience was named Bundaberg’s Best Sports Coach for 2023.
Paul Barlow of Digger’s Football Club took out the top spot in this year’s poll with 18 per cent of the votes, in a tight race against second place finisher Michael Johnston who took home 17 per cent of the votes.
Mr Barlow credited the support of his athletes as coach of the Digger’s Ladies Team, a team he has been coaching for the last five years.
During his tenure as coach there have been a wealth of successes, but he said watching his players improve gives him the most satisfaction.
“Just watching people improve, watching people grow into the sport, enjoy the sport and watching people that you’ve coached go on to coach other kids down the track,” he said.
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