Judy Gillespie has 16 years experience in awards judging and management, commencing in 1993 when she was contracted through Focus Event Management to research and write the original awards criteria for 17 categories for Meeting & Events Australia.

Since then, her involvement has included writing award submissions, awards judging, the management of award presentations, and Judging Convenor for the National Awards for Meetings & Events Australia for the past six years.

Focusing on ensuring credibility in the awards judging process, the judging for these national awards has been assessed as ‘best industry practice.’

Focus Event Management has undertaken management of award presentation dinners for 1000 guests - invitations, theming, production and logistics management:

•  The Australasian Real Estate Awards - The Jenman Group
• Australian Quality Awards for Business Excellence - Australian Quality Council

Multiple presentations on 'Preparing an Awards Submission - from the Perspective of a Judge’ have been given in professional development seminars for Meetings & Events Australia.
Reference: www.google.com 'Judy Gillespie – Meeting & Events Industry – Preparing a Submission.’

• Winner: 1988 Public Relations Institute of Australia Golden Target Award recognising 'Excellence in Public Relations' for the organisation of “Wedgwood: the Australian Heritage”, a major Bicentennial exhibition with an attendance of 30,000
• Organiser of the opening of the Waterford Wedgwood Australian showroom by the Prime Minister of Ireland, and the first New Zealand retail outlet by the Governor-General of New Zealand
• For the Children’s Medical Research Foundation (NSW), initiated a major awareness campaign – promotional material, television & radio advertisements and rejuvenated annual report, achieving a Bronze Award
• Initiator of a standard Instructor’s Course in CPR for WA via the National Heart Foundation (WA)