Tasmanian food, wine and hospitality icon Kim Seagram AM has been appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia, recognising her considerable contributions to the state's hospitality and tourism industries.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ms Seagram said though she didn't necessarily share DNA with those in Tasmania's culinary world, she considers them family and was elated to be nominated for the honour.
"It was such a joy because of how much I love this place and how much I love the people and they are my family," she said.
"To get recognised for something by a community of people I absolutely adore is probably the best honour I've ever had."
Ms Seagram has served and is serving as director, chairperson and board member on a litany of tourism-related organisations, helping push Tasmania's name onto the global stage.
She is also the co-owner of several prominent Tasmanian establishments, most notably Stillwater Restaurant and the Black Cow Bistro.
In other news:
As well as this latest honour, Ms Seagram has also received awards for her work with Harvest Market, business leadership and was inducted into the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women last year.
"When I first arrived here I knew the wine industry had so much incredible potential and it just needed someone behind it," Ms Seagram said.
"There were so many incredible producers, growers and makers... the industry just needed somebody with the skills to start shouting it from the rooftops.
"Because I came from that North American perspective... I could shout from the rooftops and be really proud of these people and have that third party advocacy."
But Ms Seagram's work is far from over, with her modus operandi of telling the world about Tasmania continuing through work with groups such as FermenTasmania.
"When you have a lot of people poo pooing Tasmanian tourism, saying 'It's just a tiny little industry, it will never get recognised' ... it's all about all these things that we do incredibly well that builds the Tasmanian brand which is so important," she said.
"You just want to get behind them and make them a success. Because I actually think that if all the bits and pieces of the puzzle are working at such an incredibly high level or such a quality level, the whole puzzle fits together.
"We've got 72 per cent repeat visitation - very few places in the world have that kind of visitation so when people discover us, they come back. There's $2.5 billion in indirect spending, that's massive for Tassie, and it's growing."