Sheffield Business Awards 2009
Wednesday, 16th September 2009
Sheffield's growing and varied commercial expertise will be brought together at a unique event to celebrate business success.
The 2009 Sheffield Business Awards, organised by the city's Chamber of Commerce, is set to be the biggest to date after adding a further two categories - an Excellence in Sports Services award and the Healthy Business award.
The Awards, which this year have 15 categories, will be held at the Ponds Forge International Centre on December 3 and is expected to attract an audience of more than 1,000 people from all sectors of the Sheffield business community.
In 2008 the event attracted a record number of entries, with more than 40 companies and individuals shortlisted in the 13 categories.
MyJobGroup Ltd won the HSBC Outstanding Business of the Year title as well as the Sheffield Technology Parks Creative and Digital Industries Innovation Award, while DavyMarkham also came out on top in two accolades.
David Heugh was recognised as the Rensburg Sheppards Business Person of the Year and Jamie Cartwright, the driving force behind the Ladyzone fitness centres, took the Sheffield Hallam University Young Business Person of the Year Award.
Sheffield Chamber chief executive Nigel Tomlinson said: "The Sheffield Business Awards is firmly recognised as the ultimate must attend end of year event which celebrates business success in the city region.
"This year the awards are going to be bigger and better than ever before, with more categories and extra opportunities for even more businesses to get involved.
"Sport and health are two key and growing sectors that are taking Sheffield's name to a national and international audience, the staging of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in Sheffield this year is an example of this.
"We had a terrific response from businesses last year and we are hoping for a similar reaction this time around.
"We all know that this past year has been a difficult time for a number of companies, but we are equally aware of many businesses which are still achieving great success despite the economic climate.
"During any downturn events like this are even more important to boost optimism and offer an opportunity to showcase how Sheffield is beating the recession."
Sheffield City Council leader Cllr Paul Scriven will be one of the guest speakers. He said: "Sheffield has recently been acknowledged as a city which is going the extra mile in what has been a difficult financial year for many cities in terms of business growth.
"At the council we want to do everything we can to support local businesses. We've introduced a ‘Buy Local' policy to encourage the both businesses and residents to use local suppliers and support the local economy. We've also set up a First Point for Business, to help people who are setting up a business to cut through the usual council red tape. This means that the previous six week process now takes just half a day!
"It's also important that we celebrate the achievements of local businesses and business people and showcase the entrepreneurial talents of the city. We want to be a city where business and enterprise really does matter and helps to create and secure local jobs."
Applying to win an award could not be easier. The Awards have a dedicated web site http://www.sheffieldbusinessawards.org.uk where businesses can register their details, gain access to the application form and submit an entry.
For more information about the Sheffield Business Awards please contact the Chamber events team on 0114 201 8899.
For more information about sponsoring the Sheffield Business Awards please contact the Chamber events team on 0114 201 8899.
