Cheryl Griek of The Cherob Group has been a regular attendee of various HIA events over the years. She has a passion for networking and building her business knowledge so the line-up of keynote speakers on offer, including Todd Sampson, Future Crunch, Ben Darwin and Amanda Stevens, was a big drawcard.
While Cheryl felt last year’s conference in Singapore was going to be ‘a hard act to follow’, she was pleasantly surprised to discover the Perth event upheld the ‘same high standard as usual’.
Fellow attendee Sonja McAuliffe of Archertec Interiors is passionate about inspired design, building connections and strong women in business, and for her the conference delivered on all three.
‘Having a chance to see Optus Stadium in all its glory was really special,’ Sonja says. ‘I had the chance to work with the architects involved in the past, so it was really a unique experience to finally go there.’
Cheryl agreed and commented: ‘I loved the Optus Stadium night, it was great fun…[and I] loved the silent disco. It was a great atmosphere and networking night.’
When it came to building industry connections, Sonja, a Canberra native, found the revelry from fellow industry professionals an addition that had sweet payback later in the weekend.
‘I hopped on the bus by myself on the first night to head to the winery and made friends with members from Adelaide,’ she says.
‘During the awards night when I found out that I had won the 2019 HIA Australian Bathroom Design award, [partnered by Caroma], it was so nice to have a personal congratulations from my newfound friends.
‘You never know, we might have the chance to work together in the future too.’
Apart from the joy of winning her well-earned award, when Sonja was asked to point out a standout part of the conference, Amanda Stevens was top of mind.
‘She was so relatable and had clear messages drawn straight from her own life experiences,’ Sonja says. ‘It was empowering to hear from a fellow woman in business. It was really inspiring.’
For Cheryl Griek, Amanda also delivered with some practical business skills: ‘Amanda Stevens did her Saturday morning seminar and I got some great ideas to build on our website to [draw in the attention of] the clients we would really like to attract.’