This year has been a successful one for the Whitton-based business, which took home a swag of honours at the Leeton Outstanding Business Awards and, more recently, at the Telstra Business Awards.

Last weekend the business added to its accolades by taking home the excellence in export honour at the Murray-Riverina Business Awards held in Albury.

If one award wasn’t enough, Southern Cotton’s general manager Kate O’Callaghan was named the Murray-Riverina joint business leader along with Amy Geach from Riverina Hand Therapy.

This means Southern Cotton will now be up for two gongs at the state awards, which will be held in Sydney on November 27.

Mrs O’Callaghan said the company was proud to represent Leeton shire.

“You never expect that you will win these awards, so when you do it’s always such a great surprise and acknowledgement,” she said.

“Personally I didn’t think I would win because I was up against so many other great business leaders from across the region. It’s nice for everyone in the company to be recognised for their hard work.”

Southern Cotton had another busy ginning season this year, wrapping up only recently.

Mrs O’Callaghan said the awards the company won had a special underlying meaning.

“Even though the business leader award was given to me, I feel it’s more of a team award,” she said. “We have such a great team at Southern Cotton.

“Leadership is only part of what I do. Everything we do is as a team and I wouldn’t be able to do my job without everyone else doing theirs so well.

“The other important thing about these awards is we get the opportunity to promote our region.

“That’s one of the things I love doing most. Our cotton industry is flourishing, but the irrigation industry as a whole is progressing. We have great growers out there, so to win the export award is a testament to all of them.”