In 2015, the BAA honours established an honour roll to recognise those that assisted the industry above and beyond the call of duty.

The awards of Excellence in Service to the Baking Industry are usually part of the Excellence in Baking Awards Night, allowing the youth of the baking industry to meet the senior participants and acknowledge their commitment throughout the years. In 2016, two people were presented the awards – Gary Higgins and Ron Taylor.

Gary Higgins is a household name in the Victorian baking industry. He not only has his own bakery in regional Victoria, but assists the community as a domestic violence awareness campaigner. He has always been committed to ensuring staff can come to work in a safe environment and also go home to a safe place.

Ron Taylor is one of the most passionate human beings in the industry. Ron Taylor and his wife sold their bakery/cake shop in Campbelltown, NSW in 2015. Ron has continued to assist and attend all the state baking shows including the National Pie and Pastie Compeition as head pastry judge. Ron continues to answer questions to pastry cooks and bakery owners who need help with pie fillings and cake recipes.

In 2015, three people were added to the honour roll – Stewart Latter, Martin McLennan and Bill Rose.

Stewart Latter is a third generation baker and during his many years of service, has provided assistance with the industry associations to finally amalgamate as one body. He has also helped prepare many people for judging at state baking shows.

Martin McLennan also provided many hours of assistance alongside Stewart. He worked to bring the industry together as one and has always assisted with technical support to the industry. Martin’s passion has always been to get people involved in the industry body. He stated on the night he received the award that the industry body is only as good as the member base, encouraging people to get involved.

Bill Rose is a Queenslander who has and always will continue to advocate the nurturing the youth of industry. Bill established the mentor network and encourages the BAA to work with social media, which saw the Friends of the BAA established. To date, Friends of the BAA Honours has more than 40 mentors throughout the country that assist in every state, encouraging apprentices to continue with the trade of baking and participate in the state and national competitions.