Today is the last day for entering the 2017 East Anglian Daily Times Business Awards.
This year marks the 20th staging of the awards, with Trinity Park, Ipswich, the event’s home since 2006, again to be the venue for this year’s ceremony.
From just five categories when the awards were first held in 1998 – including the Small Business category, first launched as a stand-alone award three years earlier – the 2017 EADT Business Awards ceremony will involve the presentation of 16 accolades in all.
These include the overall Business of the Year title, again being supported by EDF Energy and Suffolk Chamber of Commerce as joint main sponsors of the awards. As in previous years, this is a “winner of winners” award, with the recipient being chosen from among the other category winners, and it is therefore not open to direct entries.
The same applies to the Outstanding Achievement award, which is made at the discretion of the judges to recognise an organisation or individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the local or regional economy, and the wider community.
Entries are currently open for all the other categories, with businesses eligible to enter as many categories as they wish provided they meet the relevant criteria. However, the last day for entries is today, Sunday, April 23.
There are also two categories for individuals, Director of the Year and Young Business Person. Nominations for these may be submitted by the individuals themselves, the companies for which they work or a third party, but anyone making a nomination is asked to secure the consent of the individual concerned.
New categories in this year’s awards include Social Inclusion, Knowledge Catalyst and The Youth Pledge, plus a Showcasing Excellence award exclusively for businesses from with the Ipswich Business Improvement District.
Small Business (for firms with turnover of up to £1m), Medium Business (for those with turnover of £1m to £5m) and Large Business (turnover of more than £5m) all return this year, alongside awards for Community Involvement, Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Care, Food and Farming Excellence and the One To Watch category for up-and coming businesses.
New sponsors supporting categories this year include Ashtons Legal, Business Coaching, the Canine Creche Group, Ipswich Central and Spring.
In addition to joint main sponsors EDF Energy and Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, many category sponsors from previous years are also supporting the awards again this year, including Adnams, Greater Anglia, Norse, Suffolk County Council, Scrutton Bland, the Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner, Suffolk Agricultural Association, Suffolk New College, West Suffolk College and the University of Suffolk.
The results of the 2017 EADT Business Awards will be announced at a black tie dinner event taking place at Trinity Park, Ipswich, on July 6.
The ceremony will again be hosted this year by former BBC Radio Suffolk presenter Terry Baxter, who is now chief executive of Inspire Suffolk and chairman of Ipswich Central, and the guest speaker will be Bill Turnbull, formerly a presenter on the BBC Breakfast programme for 15 years, who is now a resident of Suffolk.
For further details of the EADT Business Awards and to enter, click here.
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