Companies throughout Cheshire are being urged to enter the county’s flagship business awards in 2017.
The Cheshire Business Awards ceremony will be staged in October in the magnificent setting of Chester Cathedral, as they culminate in a major black tie dinner and honours event.
And organisers and stakeholders are now urging firms and leaders who have not entered before to consider getting involved - and reap the rewards of potential success.
The awards, run by Trinity Mirror’s Cheshire series of titles and staged in conjunction with leading law firm SAS Daniels, regularly attract scores of entries across a range of categories.
But the message this year is that the awards are very much for the whole of Cheshire - not just centred around the city of Chester and its surrounding areas.
Organisers and judges who met for a round table discussion at SAS Daniels’ headquarters in White Friars stressed they are keen to embrace more entries from South Cheshire and North East Cheshire - as well as more of the bigger, more established players on the business scene whose achievements can often go unheralded because of their scale.
The awards will be launched in later this month.
Said Colin Brew, chief executive officer West Cheshire and North Wales Chamber of Commerce: “The Cheshire Business Awards are just that - for the whole of Cheshire. They need to be inclusive for businesses right across Cheshire and the wider Cheshire and Warrington sub region.
“From a Chamber of Commerce perspective, we would see it as probably the most prestigious business awards event for Cheshire.
“The categories that are displayed through the Trinity Mirror Cheshire Business Awards are inclusive to all sizes and shapes of businesses.
“I think past winners are clearly those businesses who have had fantastic success. But not only that, I think that celebration of those younger, more emerging businesses is hugely important.”
He added: “Geographically there is room for more.
“The need now is to encourage businesses across the whole of Cheshire to submit entries to the awards and for us not to be perceived as being too ‘Chester centric’.”
Jeremy Orrell, managing partner at sponsors SAS Daniels, hopes the flagship awards can help give Cheshire the recognition it deserves - but does not always get for its sometimes disparate business communities.
He told the Chronicle: “I think the Cheshire Business Awards gives opportunities to a variety of different businesses, different shapes and sizes, different sectors with a very large geographical spread - unlike some of them which are limited to one conurbation or one chamber.
“So we find the coverage and the type of organisation that apply gives it greater depth.
“I think geographically, Cheshire probably doesn’t get the profile which it should, unlike areas based around a big city which will have its own traction. So we feel that this awards event does bring together and provide some sort of basis for the county.”
Both men stressed the appeal which a venue like Chester Cathedral has for rewarding and celebrating the success of businesses large and small, new and old, across the county.
Added Jeremy: “The event is staged in an unusual venue in Chester Cathedral - certainly it is nothing like any of the awards ceremonies we would go to, which tend to be based in a room which looks remarkably similar to the room in all the others.
“I’ve certainly not been to one which has been in a cathedral.”
Said Colin: “The venue does add a real wow factor.
“And that wow factor means an awful lot to the businesses who are attending, who have maybe been nominated or are up for an award.
“But I think from a Trinity Mirror perspective, from a more long term perspective, utilising venues like Chester Cathedral certainly helps with the promotion of the event. And hopefully helps in keeping people returning year on year.”
For more information about the Cheshire Business Awards look out for the launch in June or contact Trinity Mirror Cheshire’s event team via general manager events Katie Isaacson on katie.isaacson@trinitymirror.com or call 0151 472 2571.
