Bridgwater College was proud to host the Sedgemoor Business Excellence Awards 2016, which this year was held at Bridgwater’s newest venue, The McMillan Theatre, on Thursday 17 March 2016.
The awards, now in their fourth year, was established by the Bridgwater Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Pardoes Solicitors and Bridgwater College to create a celebration for all of the excellent and successful businesses in Sedgemoor. The Awards highlights the excellent work taking place with the Sedgemoor region of Somerset and hopes to encourage others to do the same, while acknowledging the opportunities and successes of local business people.
The evening would not have been possible without the kind sponsorship of the event from companies including Bridgwater College, Bridgwater Chamber of Commerce, Pardoes Solicitors, Redberry Recruitment, Pyne’s of Somerset, Milsted Langdon, Bridgwater Town Council, Sedgemoor District Council, HSBC, The Breeze and Butterworth Jones and Thomas Westcott Chartered Accountants.
A special thanks goes to Bridgwater’s Town Clerk, Alan Hurford, who spoke about the importance of Sedgemoor’s business community, and BBC Somerset’s newest personality, Claire Carter, who was host for the night and presented eleven awards to the fantastic winners.
- International Trader of the Year: Micron Bio-Systems
- Family Business of the Year: Petruth Paddocks
- Independent Trader of the Year: Timeless Images
- Marketing Campaign of the Year: Pardoes Solicitors LLP
- Customer Service Excellence Award: Petruth Paddocks
- New Business of the Year: Somerset Larder
- Micro Business of the Year Award: Clavelshay Barn Restaurant
- Small Business of the Year: The Bower Inn Ltd
- Large Business of the Year: Bridgwater College
Two awards this year were presented with £1,000 bursaries to help the winners to continue the fantastic work they do and continue to develop their business in the future.
Levels’ Lamb won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Levels’ Lamb is a small business that sells quality lamb directly from the farmer. Director, Howard Tratt, will use the £1,000 bursary to help develop the business that he has worked tirelessly to build to make it both sustainable and to hopefully create employment opportunities for local young people.
The Customer Engagement Award was awarded to BARB Search and Rescue. BARB is a team of 30 volunteers aged 18 – 75 who operate a vital, life-saving service across Sedgemoor. When reflecting on their win, Mark Newman from BARB, said,
“We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded the Customer Engagement Award. The £1,000 bursary will make a huge difference and will be put to use by boosting our flood relief capabilities. The funding will be used to enhance our flood rescue equipment. BARB Search and Rescue has high running costs and therefore help with funding like this is hugely appreciated and will be put to immediate good use.”
Anthony Bruton, Theatre Manager at The McMillan Theatre said,
“It was a pleasure to both sponsor and host this year’s Sedgemoor Business Excellence Awards. As a new venue, this prestigious event is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase just what the facility is capable of. It is important to also recognise the fantastic work that goes on in the Sedgemoor area, I wish all of the winners at tonight’s event every success in the future.”
Matt Tudor, Director of Business Development at Bridgwater College said,
“As a College we feel privileged to be involved in celebrating the successes and achievements of local individuals and businesses. The evening was a huge success, with a stunning menu provided by our College’s catering team, and musical entertainment from some of our extremely talented students, Sam Pope and Beth Swan. All those shortlisted for awards have done exceptionally well and should be very proud of what they have achieved, their contribution to the local community and beyond.”
If you would like any further information about the Sedgemoor Business Awards please contact Luisa Fear on 01278 441216 or visit www.sedgemoorbusinessawards.co.uk
Photography on the evening was taken by Timeless images.
