And it is also proving to be a hotbed for switched-on businesses.

In recent months the Mail has run many stories about local businesses doing well in state and national awards.

There are more examples in today’s edition.

For example we feature the Scusi Restaurant for its in win in the annual Gold Plate awards.

Then there is Peel Tyres Service and Mechanical that recently won the automotive section in the 2009 West Australian Small Business Champion awards.

This business will now compete in the national final in Sydney on November 14.

At the end of next week five Peel businesses will be looking for the major prizes in the Regional Business Awards that will be announced at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre

Pojo Kids (Home Based Business), Sign A Rama (Franchise Business), OZ Tech Security (Small Business Centre Achiever), Business Solutions (Micro Business) and Newmarketing Pty Ltd (Business with 10-20 Employees) all stand a good chance of claiming an award.

Last Friday night the hard-working group from the Peel and Rockingham Volunteer Resource Centre won the Australia Post Community of the Year Award at the 2009 Regional Achievement and Community Awards.

And Fairbridge Village is a finalist in the Tourism WA awards that will be announced this month.

This follows on from the 15 awards the popular village has won since 2005.

These are just some of the examples of local businesses doing well that the Mail was made aware of this week.

Naturally there are many more and often some of the achievements of our business community go unnoticed.

While many people think of the Peel region as a great place to live and go for a holiday, positive results from the business community are also shaping it up to be a great place to do business.

If you have been involved in a local business that has won an award this year, it is time to take a bow.