42 Herts AdvertiserThursday, December 3, 2015

In association with

www.hertsbusinessawards.co.uk

CATEGORIES

COMPANY OF THE YEARsponsored by

YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEARsponsored by

EMPLOYER OF THE YEARsponsored by

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AWARD

sponsored by

ONLINE INNOVATOR OF THE YEARsponsored by

LARGE BUSINESS OF THE YEARsponsored by

MEDIUM BUSINESS OF THE YEARsponsored by

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND OPEN INNOVATION AWARD

sponsored by

COMMERCIAL BUSINESS IN THE COMMUNITY

sponsored by

CUSTOMER SERVICE AWARDsponsored by

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEARsponsored by

SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE AWARD sponsored by

NEW BUSINESS AWARDsponsored by

OUR ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

County celebrates success and sheer hard work at business awards

The cream of local industry enjoyed the most prestigious business event in the county – the 19th annual Hertfordshire

Business Awards 2015 – on Thursday November 26.

For the eighth year in a row Knebworth Barns hosted the glittering ceremony, which was a sell out with more than 430 people in attendance. Kim Black-Totham, commercial director of Archant Herts & Cambs, opened the evening before Dave Simpson, from headline sponsor KPMG, welcomed the guests including the finalists, dignitaries and sponsors.

Entertainment was provided by singers Genie and the Jive Bombers, from Hitchin, and The Comedy Opera. Stewart White, the presenter of BBC’s Look East regional news programme, hosted the ceremony when 16 category winners were announced.

Welwyn Garden City based recruitment firm Osborne Appointments was the biggest winner on the night scooping two awards: Medium Business and Company of the Year.

Fitness trainer Aaron Phillips won New Business of the Year with his venture FitStart UK. He said: “This is a truly memorable moment. To win this award is a great achievement for me but also for my team, without which I wouldn’t be here today. Day in and day out we all work hard to make people feel better about themselves and transform individuals into the people they want to become. Today is just a small step onto the path to greater things as we have a large expansion plan going into the new year. It’s a great honour to win such a prestigious award.”

Elstree Film Design won the Commercial Business in the Community Award, creative director Rob Finlay said: “It’s

wonderful. It was a great surprise to win. There were lots of great people there. From talking to the judges, it was our passion for the work we do that won through. It’s the uniqueness of it. It’s the work we have done with young people that defines us. It’s the part of the business we want to keep growing.

“We run a film competition for young people each year. We are a commercial film production company but we also do community projects – that’s unusual, it’s normally one or the other. We had a meeting with The Prince’s Trust to do a project with them. Having the award really helps.”

The Customer Service Award went to JTM Plumbing and Heating Services. Lynn Vallance, sales and marketing director, said: “We were all thrilled to be recognised – especially winning the customer service category. We work in a demanding industry so it’ a very important award for us.

“We are a small family business and we are growing and growing.

The team work extremely hard. We are called up at all times of the day and night. It’s about being a service people can trust. We don’t turn anybody down, we always say yes.”

The chosen charity for the evening was WellChild which helps to get seriously ill children out of hospital and cared for at home with their families. WellChild ambassador and actress Lauren Drummond gave a moving presentation about the charity and its work.

During the evening a raffle, auction and charity casino raised a whopping £4,253. The auction prizes included a signed Tottenham Hotspur FC pennant, afternoon tea at the House of Commons courtesy of MP Stephen McPartland, two tickets to the WellChild Awards, a team of three to take part in a celebrity golf challenge hosted by former British Olympic swimmer Mark Foster and a one night stay for two at Cowly Manor in the Cotswolds.

Raffle prizes included a hamper from Waitrose in Hitchin, a day pass

for five people to Center Parcs Woburn Forest, four tickets to watch a Saracens rugby match, Stevenage FC memorabilia, a golf day at Herts Golf & Country Club, a private hospitality box for 15 people at Huntingdon Racecourse, a family ticket to Paradise Wildlife Park, a bottle of Champagne courtesy of Majestic Wine Stevenage, a wardrobe detox courtesy of Lololovett Style Consultancy, afternoon tea for two at Brocket Hall, two Charlotte Moss Virginia Collection of Agraria home fragrance sets and two tickets to see The Women in Black at the Fortune Theatre, including an exclusive backstage tour.

At the end of the evening, Stuart Charter, managing director of Aztek Logistics, had the most chips at the fun casino winning a BMW for the weekend courtesy of Specialist Cars in Stevenage.

� To view pictures from the evening visit the awards website at www.hertsbusinessawards.co.uk

� Lauren Drummond. � Stewart White.

43Herts Advertiser Thursday, December 3, 2015

In association with

New Business of the Year: FitStart UKSponsored by MarketingFile Ltd

Small Business of the Year: Synergi Search & SelectSponsored by Hertfordshire Life Magazine

Medium Business of the Year: Osborne AppointmentsSponsored by Falkland Press

Large Business of the Year: Bristol LaboratoriesSponsored by Barclays

Online Innovator of the Year: Labrums Solicitors LLPSponsored by iThink Media

Young Entrepreneur Award: James Morgenstern, Ideal InsightSponsored by Hertfordshire Business School

www.hertsbusinessawards.co.uk

44 Herts AdvertiserThursday, December 3, 2015

In association with

Employer of the Year: Novo UK Recruitment LtdSponsored by Blue Arrow

Social Enterprise of the Year: TheGivingMachineSponsored by Knebworth House

Commercial Business in the Community: Elstree Film DesignSponsored by North Herts Homes

Science Technology and Open Innovation: Autoglym LtdSponsored by The Hertfordshire LEP and Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst

Customer Service Award: JTM Plumbing and Heating ServicesSponsored by Specialist Cars Stevenage

Supporting Young People: John Laing TrainingSponsored by Oaklands College

www.hertsbusinessawards.co.uk

45Herts Advertiser Thursday, December 3, 2015

In association with

Business Person of the Year: Eve Millman, TateSponsored by DB Sharpe + Sons Ltd

Judges’ Award: Abacus Party CoverSponsored by Archant Ltd

Company of the Year: Osborne AppointmentsSponsored by KPMG

International Business of the Year: Widget UK LtdSponsored by KPMG

www.hertsbusinessawards.co.uk

Congratulations to all the 2015 winners