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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-14 Daily Xml
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CHOOK MCCOY

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (15:11): I rise today to pay tribute to Chook McCoy, a legend in McLaren Vale, with his business Chook's Little Winery Tours. Chook and his wife, Kerry, run a fantastic local business. It was terrific to be at the McLaren Vale Regional Business Awards a couple of Friday nights ago, where Chook not only took out the best home-based business but also took out the title of Business of the Year, which was voted amongst all those people who were there on the night. Chook was an overwhelmingly popular winner because he means so much to so many local people, as well as people from all around the world.

I just went on TripAdvisor and had a look at some of the reviews that Chook has received from as far afield as New York and Europe. He has had 14 visitor ratings, all 14 in the excellent category. I am someone who uses TripAdvisor quite a bit. It is a very honest place for people to give feedback. You do not get a lot of excellent ratings, and for Chook to get 14 out of 14 for his Little Winery Tours is exceptional. I will have a quick look through the feedback. One woman said:

After a surprise proposal at Willunga Hill, and as a newly engaged couple, Chook took us on a personal winery tour of the McLaren Vale region! Chook was an amazing host/guide and made our experience so enjoyable and fun!

Another one is from Nathan:

A fantastic day, visiting great wineries. Chook's local knowledge and history was unbelievable and greatly added to the day.

Other people 'definitely' recommended. One person wrote that Chook picked up his group of seven from the airport. They had arrived from Western Australia. He took them to all the great wineries in the area. What Chook will do with his Chook's Little Winery Tours is find those exceptional little spots that only us locals really know about. So, if you are a visitor to McLaren Vale it is a great way to get off the beaten track and away from those fantastic big wineries and have a look at some of the other fantastic boutique wineries.

Chook provides another great service to us locals: he gets us home from the pub and wineries, as no-one wants to be drinking and driving. It has been very difficult over the years to get taxis in our area. I have had to wait for over an hour, and sometimes the cabs have never turned up at all. When Chook set up his tours he saw a gap in our local community. I think it is a great community safety initiative as well as a good business venture for him. He does not charge a lot of money, it is very cheap—$10 a head in each direction. I know so many people in the wine industry and other locals who use Chook all the time, because no-one wants to be out there drinking and driving, and in the wine industry it is a pretty hard thing to avoid, having a drink at a lot of functions. I really want to thank Chook and Kerry. Chook's dad, Murray, moved here recently from New South Wales, and he has been a great addition to our local community as well.

Other awards on the night included one for the best new business, which went to Angove's at McLaren Vale for their vineyard and cellar door. Angove's, of course, have been around for generations and are a great family with a fantastic tradition in wine in South Australia. They started up around Tea Tree Gully and, as urban sprawl consumed their vineyards there, they moved many years ago to other parts of South Australia, including McLaren Vale and the Riverland. It was terrific earlier this year to be at the opening of Angove's new cellar door down in McLaren Vale and great to see them pick up that award.

The employee of the year in McLaren Vale went to Grant Hockey. The Young Entrepreneur was Caleb Sutherland, a very talented young man. He is actually doing some graphic design for me at the moment for a postcard I am putting out in the electorate, so I congratulate Caleb Sutherland on being a very popular winner of the Young Entrepreneur award in the 2012 McLaren Vale Regional Awards.

The award for customer service went to Rachel Kuhl and the manufacturing/trade award was won by Sutherland Property Solutions. The environmental award went to a great design in a B&B and that is Villa Grenache B&B. The retail prize went to the McLaren Vale Garden Centre, and the award for customer service from a business point of view went to Funky Fit Kids. The Professional Services award was won this year by The Singing Gallery, a great spot that provides so much diverse entertainment for the whole community.

The sustainability project award was won by the McLaren Vale & Districts War Memorial Hospital. Of course, the South Australian government is a very proud supporter of the local McLaren Vale hospital, having announced recently that it would continue to provide more than half of that community hospital's funding. Congratulations to all the winners in the McLaren Vale business awards.

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