It is an exciting time for the county, as SoGlos prepares to open for nominations for its inaugural Gloucestershire Business Awards.
Born and bred in Gloucestershire, the event promises to showcase and celebrate the county – just what SoGlos was devised to do – and what better time to underline its commitment and media might than now, as we all work together to leave the pandemic behind.
As the crisis developed, threatening businesses and livelihoods, the ‘buy local’ mantra was given new meaning – and GFirst LEP and The Growth Hub stepped forward to lead, taking up the banners of headline sponsors with championing Gloucestershire the aim.
Category sponsors from the Gloucestershire business community followed hot on their heels for the 16 categories, and we can now reveal the date from which you can send us your nominations – Monday 22 March 2021, with entry being completely free.
‘We have been thrilled that local enterprise partnership, GFirst LEP, The Growth Hub and so many businesses were keen to support the idea of a truly Gloucestershire business awards celebrating the county,’ said James Fyrne, co-founder of the Cheltenham-headquartered SoGlos.
‘More than a decade ago we set out to create an independent online magazine that would go on to become the definitive media for inspiration on living in and enjoying Gloucestershire, and in doing so showcase just how much the county has to offer.
‘It was a natural progression that we expanded our coverage to provide quality, editorially-led journalism to focus on working in Gloucestershire too.
‘And from there, the next natural step is this year’s SoGlos Gloucestershire Business Awards – which will showcase the very best the county has to offer.’
Businesses of all shapes and sizes are welcome – it is an event open to all.
Categories and sponsors include Business of the Year (GFirst and The Growth Hub), Family Business of the Year (sponsored by QuoLux), New Business of the Year (Bamboo), Growth Business of Year (Willans LLP solicitors) and Green Business of the Year (Ecotricity). Most Innovative Business of the Year (Hartpury), Employer Engagement Award (Hazlewoods), Best Place to Work (Brunsdon Financial), Corporate Social Responsibility (RockWealth), Customer Excellence (Gloucestershire College), International Business (Barclays), Pivoting Business (Evans Jones), Entrepreneur of the Year (University of Gloucestershire), Employee of the Year (GB Solutions), Heritage Business of the Year (Hewer FM) and Business Leader Award (Gloucestershire County Council).
Admission to the awards night will be by invitation only, to include sponsors, special guests and finalists, and will also be free of charge.
Forget stuffy awards events and sit-down dinners. Instead, expect a relaxed party atmosphere complete with a chance to meet other businesses and network, supper and drinks on arrival, before the live reveal kicks off at 8pm.
This informal structure has been at the core of our lifestyle awards’ success, and is something which will be mirrored as part of Gloucestershire’s brand new business awards format.
Nominations will open to businesses via soglos.com/awards-business on Monday 22 March 2021, with the final day to get your business in the running being Friday 18 June 2021.
Entries will then go before the panel of judges for review and scoring, with a judging meeting due for Friday 16 July 2021, and the finalists in each category announced on Monday 26 July 2021.
The awards ceremony itself is due to take place in the autumn at a time, date and venue to be unveiled shortly. Watch this space.
By Andrew Merrell
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