The Geelong Cats hospitality arm, Higher Mark, has won Gold in the Business Events Venue category at the RACV Victorian Tourism Awards on Thursday night.

Launched in late 2018, Higher Mark has flourished to become one of the state’s rising stars in terms of unique events and conferences.

Geelong Cats General Manager of Food & Beverage, Andre Smaniotto, said the award was a terrific reflection of the Higher Mark team and their dedication to creating an exceptional customer experience.

“Higher Mark has been built on the values that have become synonymous with the way the Geelong Football Club operates.” Smaniotto said. 

“We strive to create memorable and authentic events for our customers that go above and beyond expectations.”

“It’s one thing to aim to provide an exceptional experience but our dedicated staff work tirelessly to ensure that this is a reality.”

“We pride ourselves on being Victoria’s largest regional events venue whilst still providing a personalised level of service from start to finish.”

Employing approximately 400 staff, of which 92% are from the Geelong region, Higher Mark is dedicated to the on-going training and development of these staff and being an employer of choice in the industry. 

Some of the highlight events and conferences in 2019 provided by Higher Mark include the Victorian Tourism Industry Council conference, graduations for St Joseph’s and Sacred Heart schools and servicing nearly 20,000 corporate hospitality clients at the nine Geelong Cats home games this season. 

Higher Mark will now compete in the same category in the Australian Tourism Awards in 2020.