A sincere congratulations to all the finalists whose passion, hard work and commitment saw them nominated across the categories.

As we know, it has been a tough couple of years for many of Wagga's businesses, but there was definitely a sense of optimism in the room.

Since 2003, The Daily Advertiser, in conjunction with the Wagga Business Chamber, has recognised business excellence through its Roll of Honour.

Last night's inductees were Anne Whealing and Deanna Stenhouse, the driving forces behind the homegrown personalised labelling business Identikid.

These two women - incidentally both from a nursing background - have built a successful business from the ground up.

Identikid is undoubtedly a thoroughly modern small business. It has evolved and innovated, all the while remaining family owned and operated.

Congratulations to Anne and Deanna.

However, it was sad to learn to this week that the WIN network will close four newsrooms, including its one at Wagga, in the coming days.

The loss of this local nightly bulletin is a blow to the community.

Media diversity is crucial to a healthy democracy and many regional areas are the poorer for the concentration we have witnessed over the last decade.

If you value local news, regardless of whether your preferred platform is online, print, radio or television, please support it.

All the best for the week ahead, Ross.