The team at Priceline in the Lismore Square are smiling from ear to ear following some significant wins on the state and national stages recently.

The list of awards the Priceline Lismore team won is impressive:

• Store of the Year: State winner
• Beauty Advisor of the Year Michelle Le Page: State winner and National Winner
• Sisterhood Foundation Award: State and National winner

Being so close to the Queensland border, Lismore is included in the Northern NSW/SE Queensland area of the Priceline stores. In Australia, there are around 470 stores. This is what makes Lismore Priceline Retail Manager Kristy Paterson so proud of her team's achievements.

The Sisterhood Foundation Award is the one that Kristy holds dear because it is awarded to the team that raises the most money to be distributed among the eight Sisterhood Foundation Charity partners, that is Jean Hailes for Women's Health, Smiling Mind, Her Heart, Share the Dignity, Fitted for Work, SisterWorks, Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia (PANDA) and Motherless Daughters.

"We were the highest fundraiser in the country for the reporting period," Kristy said. "We raised over $30,000 through in-store activities, like community days. So, we'll have face painting, nail painting, and bake sales that we set up outside the store. People come and donate money, and all that money goes to the Sisterhood Charity."

The baked goods are not store-bought and resold, the Priceline staff get to work baking cakes, biscuits and slices at home.

"Everything sells, but it's all about the slices for me. Cookies always go."

Asked if one staff member stands out in the baking department, Kristy replied, like all good managers do, "Oh, you can't ask me that. They're all very good."

It wasn't just the baked items that raised money throughout the year.

"Every month, we were doing things to raise that money, and our staff donated their time, and we contacted suppliers and asked for products and things like that, so we could create goodie bags that we could sell. So, those sorts of things as well."

Part of the criteria for winning the Priceline State Award for Northern NSW/SE Queensland, and for Michelle Le Page to win the National Award for Beauty Advisor of the Year, is through community engagement. This is on top of fundraising.

"We're always looking for opportunities to support the community. We're always donating hampers and items, as lots of people approach us and ask for support for raffles. We provide products to lots of schools to help them fundraise. We've given sunscreens to local schools and daycares, and some of our staff, especially our beauty advisor, go to some of the disability support places and do manicures and things. Michelle just did a day where she went to a nursing home and spent the day doing manicures for the residents of the nursing home. Any chance we have to get involved in the community, we go."

The lucky recipients of Michelle's manicures and beauty treatment were the residents of St Joseph's Nursing Home in East Lismore.

Of course, Michelle's criteria also include growth in the beauty department, which includes cosmetics, skin care and fragrance. She also completes all the relevant training that is offered to her.

"She has to be actively involved in all the fundraising and the community engagement as well, which she is. She's a powerhouse." Kristy said.

That compliment was returned by Michelle. "I wouldn't have received this award without the support of Kristy," Michelle stated.

To win the national award, Michelle had to travel to Melbourne and give a presentation to a panel of judges about why they deserved to win

Kristy said she and the team won't rest on their laurels following this year's success.

"We sort of have just kept doing what we're doing. We know our strengths, so we're just doing a lot more of that. This year, we've focused a little less on our fundraising for the charities and a lot more on our community engagement, because we think, especially being a regional town, that's really important for us to be really visible in the community and give that support. So we focus a lot of our stock and time into that, but we really just doing what we were doing. I think the store does a really great job. We're always growing."

Priceline is looking for employees right now. So, if you want to join an award-winning team, pop in to Priceline Lismore Square and talk to Kristy Paterson.