In August, the most important event of all time is taking place. More important than the fall of Rome. Easily bigger than humankind landing on the moon. The greatly anticipated AFRA Awards are taking place.
Presented by the Australian Furniture Removers Association (AFRA), these awards recognise staff members who consistently demonstrate excellence in the removalist industry. To receive one of these awards, your workplace needs to be AFRA-accredited. AFRA-accredited companies are guaranteed to have the necessary equipment, vehicles, and qualified staff to make your move stress-free.
In 2025, a couple of Holloway Revomals team members are up for two AFRA Awards. Marcello Piccione has been nominated for the Removalist of the Year Award, and Sales Manager, Felisha Holloway, is in the running for Women of the Year.
But who is this mysterious Marcello? What makes him an A+ removalist? Let’s jump into the details.
AFRA’s 2025 Removalist of the Year Award
Marcello has been in the moving game for a long time. In fact, he’s been at Holloway for over ten years, and is now a team leader, as well as a removalist. Since moving to Holloway, he’s honed his team-building skills.
“I love having the ability to work in a big team. I think it’s the most precious thing about this job. It's hard to deal with a lot of different people all the time, so I’m proud to have improved this skill.”
Marcello is also excited about being nominated for this award. It’s the first award he’s been up for since the 2023 Holloway BBQ.
“Two years ago, we had a Holloway BBQ at the end of the year. And I actually won the Removalist of the Year Award, between all of the Holloway guys. So hopefully I can do that again.”
Andy Holloway, the Managing Director at Holloway, is pleased as punch with Marcello’s work.
“Marcello has a broad range of experiences. He’s an amazing removalist, an amazing team lead, and an amazing manager. He’s really good at running big commercial relocations, up to 50 guys at once in multiple locations. He’s got an extremely rare skill there.”
“He’s also brought up many other great people around him. How I identify great leaders is that they don’t manage people, they turn people into stars. He’s really developed some great people around him into becoming great leaders. So, all in all, what a superstar.”
Can the Holloway Team Score Back-to-Back Wins?
This isn’t the first year that Holloway has been nominated for numerous AFRAs. In 2024, Paul King won Removalist of the Year, while Maria Leite was a finalist for Women of the Year.
Andy is hopeful that Holloway can win an AFRA award two years in a row.
“We would love to have another win again, that’d be awesome,” Andy said. “But there’s a lot of great contenders this year, so it's never a sure thing.”
“Then again, I think he’s in with a really big chance.”
Additionally, Andy believes more wins will happen in the future. He believes that these nominations are a result of Holloway’s professional customer service, immaculate presentation, and top-notch work culture. He doesn't plan on this changing anytime soon.
“We always strive for greatness,” Andy said. “We strive to be better than the best. We strive to be a company where people want to come and work.”
“We have the best culture. We also have a great team and a great brand.”
The AFRA Awards are being held on the 22nd of August, in Melbourne at The Hotel Windsor.
