Raine & Horne Great Southern, under the leadership of the remarkable team of John and Julie Hetherington, celebrated a standout evening at the Raine & Horne WA State Awards, held at the stunning QT Perth.

This event marked the start of Raine & Horne’s state awards season and was also the first awards ceremony attended by Mr Chris Nicholl in his new role as the super brand’s CEO.

Mr Nicholl co-hosted the event alongside Executive Chairman Angus Raine, with Mr James Trimble, General Manager SA & WA Raine & Horne, serving as the event’s master of ceremonies.

The sold-out event, which brought together Raine & Horne’s top talent with nearly every office represented, highlighted the outstanding achievements of agents and offices across Western Australia. Raine & Horne Great Southern triumphed with multiple prestigious awards, while Raine & Horne Commercial WA’s Principal, Mr Anthony Vulinovich, was honoured as the Top Commercial Salesperson for Highest Transaction.

A highlight of the evening was Reigan Derry’s performance. A full-time singer with a rich background in the music industry, Ms Derry’s only other workplace before hitting the big stage on Australian Idol and X-Factor was none other than Raine & Horne. 

Ms Derry delivered a powerful rendition of the legendary Great Southern Land by Icehouse, perfectly capturing the theme “Part of the Landscape” – which aligns with Raine & Horne’s national brand campaign. The stunning performance also celebrated the remarkable achievements of Mr Hetherington and Raine & Horne Great Southern.

Raine & Horne Great Southern’s success

For his exceptional sales achievements, Mr Hetherington was awarded multiple honours, including the highly coveted Top Salesperson—Highest Transaction award. He also scored first in the Top Principal Sales GCI category.

Alongside Mr Hetherington, Raine & Horne Great Southern with offices in Albany, Kojonup and Denmark secured Top Office - Sales GCI and Top Office - Number of Sales Transactions, reinforcing its position as a real estate leader in Western Australia.

Other Raine & Horne Great Southern team members also earned accolades, including Best New Talent - Property Management, awarded to Ms Macell Duggin, and Best New Talent - Salespeople, awarded to Ms Melanie Lawrence.

Mr Hetherington was also honoured as a Chairman’s Club Salesperson - Gold, recognising his continued excellence in sales along with Mr Peter Vetten, Principal of Raine & Hore Mandurah. Mr Vetten was also named Top Principal Number of Sales Transactions.

“We only joined from another network in November 2023 where we also won awards, so winning these awards shows us that we’re still on track. These awards were unexpected, but it’s onwards and upwards for us over the next few years,” Mr Hetherington said. 

“It’s also pleasing to see Macell and Melanie, who are new to the industry, win the New Talent awards. It demonstrates how the whole team is gelling together and supporting each other,” he added.

Mrs Hetherington also praised Raine & Horne for its support and industry-leading technologies, such as the first-to-market AI-powered social media marketing platform, Amplify. “Raine & Horne’s technology is better than other brands, and we are utilising this to position ourselves ahead of the competition and build brand recognition in WA.

“The support we get from Raine & Horne is exceptional,” Mrs Hetherington concluded. 

Mr Nicholl added, “The exceptional efforts of John and Julie Hetherington and the Raine & Horne Great Southern team, who only joined our network in November 2023, have fuelled the office’s remarkable growth and set a new benchmark for both our WA network and the broader industry.

“This incredible event, along with all our awards, showcases the power of ‘people & collaboration’ at Raine & Horne, highlights how top offices have applied our ecosystem of technology-first innovations such as Amplify to dominate their markets, and reflects my excitement for the continued success and growth of our network in the year ahead.”

Other notable winners

• Top Salesperson Sales GCI: Susan Pitts, Raine & Horne Bunbury
• Top Salesperson Number of Transactions: Danielle Keatley, Raine & Horne Rural WA
• Top Commercial Salesperson – Sales GCI: Jack Divitini, Raine & Horne Commercial WA
• Top Commercial Salesperson – Number of Sales Transactions: Jack Divitini, Raine & Horne Commercial WA
• Top Commercial Leasing Agent – Leasing Dollar Value: Daniel Romeo, Raine & Horne Commercial WA
• Top Commercial Leasing Agent Number of Leasing Transactions: Mathew Edwards, Raine & Horne Commercial WA