On November 25 at Pullman Hotel, Auckland CBD
Venkat Raman
Auckland, September 17, 2024
Preparations for the 15th Annual Indian Newslink Business Awards to be held on Monday, November 25, 2024 at Pullman Hotel, Auckland CBD have gathered pace with Melissa Stokes joining us as the Master of Ceremonies.
The Celebrity Speaker and Anchor is famous as the News Presenter at TV NewsOne on weekends and has worked across several popular news shows including Breakfast, Sunday and Seven Sharp at the country’s single largest television channel (TVNZ).
Born in Tauranga, Melissa completed high school and moved with her family (parents Roger and Gillian Stokes and younger sister Olivia) to Christchurch when she was 16 years old. Attending the Broadcasting School, she was inspired to become a Television Journalist by her uncle who worked for TVNZ.
She began her journalistic journey as an intern at Prime News in 1999.
Her parents owned fabric stores, where she worked as a teenager.
From comfort to conflict zones
The following is from Celebrity Speakers:
Melissa is an award-winning News Reporter who started working at TVNZ in 2001. In her role, she covered a range of major stories and events, including the Christchurch Earthquake, the Beijing Olympics and the Delhi Commonwealth Games.
For two years, she was the TV1 News Europe Correspondent, based in London where she covered the conflict in Israel (spending the night in Gaza travelling in and out of bomb shelters), drove from Syria to Lebanon to see the conflict from both sides, covered ‘that’ Rugby World Cup in France, America’s Cup in Valencia, stood outside Number 10 as Tony Blair left and has interviewed some big stars including Jennifer Hudson – and the cast of High School Musical!
She has even visited the Scottish Hebrides where she went rat hunting!
Melissa is a regular host of large events including Business Awards and Charity fundraisers, drawing on her journalism and ad-lib skills to deliver a polished performance.
She is a Mother of two boys, and in her spare time, Melissa will most likely be found in her activewear wrangling them!
About our Business Awards
This is an impactful year for Indian Newslink with three milestones: The publication, the first English newspaper of the Indian community, will celebrate its 25th Anniversary along with its 15th Year of Business Awards at Pullman Hotel, Auckland CBD on November 25, 2024. On June 17, 2024, our distinct brand – Indian Newslink Sports, Community, Arts and Culture Awards marked its tenth year and recognised more than 80 achievers in various fields of activity.
This year’s Business Awards accounts for ten categories of Business Excellence in Retail Trade, Innovation, Customer Service, Marketing, and International Trade with India, followed by Best Small Business, Large Business, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Financial Advisor (Mortgage and Insurance) and Businesswoman of the Year.
An independent, external panel of Judges is currently evaluating the entries which closed on August 31 and the robust process will involve interviews, site visits and extensive discussions to select finalists and winners in each category. One of the winners in individual categories will be selected to receive the Supreme Business of the Year Award.
Tickets for the Awards Night, priced at $150 plus GST per person and tables seating ten persons at $1500 plus GST per table are available. For bookings and further information, please call 021-836528 or email venkat@indiannewslink.nz
