On Friday, 6 July 2018 the Caravan Industry Association Victoria (CIA VIC), hosted its prestigious annual Hall of Fame Business Awards and Gala event at Melbourne Crown Palladium.

The theme this year was ‘Caravanning is Magic!’  This was reinforced with the opening act ‘Sisters and Misters’, a well-known Melbourne based “un-auditioned” vocal group who performed a medley of songs based on the theme ‘magic’.  The audience was then ‘wowed’ by a special performance by Matt Hollywood, Illusionist. Matt has worked with everyone from Seinfeld through to Jerry Lewis and Robbie Williams. He’s been crowned “Entertainer of the Year”, “Magician of the Year” and most recently as one of the World Champions of Magic winning the Merlin Award for “Illusionist of the Year”. Everyone was thoroughly entertained and amazed by Matt’s performance. 

This year the Association was happy to announce MPC Mags and Tyres as the event’s major partner; they have committed for the next three years.  The success of the evening is a credit to all our partners, being: MPC Mags and Tyres, AL-KO International, Camec, Caravan Industry Association of Australia, Dometic, G & S Chassis, Commerce Press, Hume City Council, Melbourne Trophy Centre, Moreton Hire, Parable Productions and What’s Up Down Under.

Mr Rob Lucas, Chief Executive Officer, Caravan Industry Association Victoria, stated ‘The Hall of Fame gala event is the opportunity to celebrate people who have contributed greatly to the growth and professionalism of our industry along with celebrating excellence, innovation and achievement in one of Victoria’s most vibrant industries, the Caravan Industry.’

We had much to celebrate this year as we recognised another group of pioneers and industry leaders into the Caravan Industry Association Victoria Hall of Fame.  These inductees have made significant achievements within their businesses and are well respected within the Caravan Industry today.

Leo Cronin – Hall of Fame Inductee

Rob Funder – Hall of Fame Inductee

Peter Wright – Hall of Fame Inductee

“The Association has a long tradition of recognising people who have contributed so much to the industry, and our prestigious Hall of Fame awards recognises both past and present pioneers of our industry of which these three inductees most definitely are,” commented, Rob Lucas, Chief Executive Officer, CIA VIC.

Annually on this night of nights, the Association acknowledges and awards the George Pantazopoulos Young Achiever Award and the Charlie Tebb Service to Industry Award.  

2018 George Pantazopoulos Young Achiever Award went to Irene Viergever from Thetford Australia Pty Ltd who was a crowd favourite.

2018 Charlie Tebb Service to Industry Award went to Steve Borg from Retreat Caravans who provided a heartfelt acceptance speech.

As part of this prestigious event, members of the Association were recognised in the CIA VIC Business Awards; Excellence in Manufacturer, Excellence in Dealer/Retailer, Excellence in Manufacturer (other than Caravans / RVs) and Excellence in Service and Repairer which were all partnered categories.

“The Business Award nominations are assessed by four independent judges, the awards recognise members for their outstanding business and personal performance throughout the past 12 months, and takes into account a wide range of criteria”, says Rob Lucas, CEO of CIA VIC.

Excellence in Manufacturer – category partner, AL-KO International Pty Ltd

Winner – Nova Caravans

Excellence in Dealer / Retailer – category partner, G & S Chassis

Winner – Ian Grant’s Caravans

Excellence in Manufacturer (other than Caravans / RVs) – category partner, Caravan Industry Association of Australia

Winner – Thetford Australia Pty Ltd

Excellence in Service and Repairer – category partner, Dometic

Winner – Hardings Swift Caravan Services

The Caravan Industry Association Victoria would like to congratulate all the 2018 finalists and winners – the quality of candidates and nominations improves yearly.