North Antrim Business Awards 2011 gets green light

The North Antrim Business Awards, which are being held on Friday 25th March 2011 in the magnificent Lissanoure Castle, will host 250 people from businesses throughout Ballymoney and Moyle who will be hoping that their business achievements will be recognised and rewarded at the prestigious black tie Gala Event.

The Awards are being organised by Accelerate Business Support Agency, which was set up by Marc McGerty in 2009.

Before starting Accelerate Marc was the Chief Executive of North Antrim Business Agency, having also worked in Moyle District Council and in Acorn Business Centre. Marc also organised the very successful 2007 and 2008 North Antrim Business Awards.

Marc stated: “I’m delighted to confirm that the North Antrim Business Awards 2011 are taking place in Lissanoure Castle, and once again the awards are being hosted by UTV’s Paul Clark.

“In all we have 18 Awards, with these ranging from Awards for Customer Service to Awards for individual Entrepreneurs. Some of these will be judged by mystery shopper, others by a Panel of Judges.

“There are many excellent businesses in the North Antrim area, and when all you hear is doom and gloom about the economy it’s easy to forget about the hard work and the valuable contribution that local entrepreneurs have on the local economy.

“During these tough economic times we hope that the Business Awards will give the local economy a boost, and we believe firmly in showcasing and celebrating what’s great about the North Antrim economy.

“We still have a small number of sponsorship opportunities available, and we are calling on local businesses or organisations that have a vested interest in seeing North Antrim shine to come forward and get involved in the 2011 Awards.”

Marc added: “That involvement could be sponsoring Award Categories or sponsoring items on the night of the Gala Event including the wine or champagne reception, or possibly helping with short-listing and judging, or simply nominating fellow businesses who you have seen doing good things in the past. To date we have secured sponsorship for about eighty percent of the Categories, so if you want to get involved you aren’t too late.”

Marc concluded: “Over the next fortnight over 800 local businesses will be receiving a Business Awards Information Pack which will detail the various Awards Categories, and will include a Nomination Form which only takes 30 seconds to complete.

“Businesses can nominate themselves, and businesses can be nominated by customers, suppliers, friends, and even family. We don’t divulge where the nomination comes from so don’t be shy and get thinking about who you want to nominate!”

For more information about the North Antrim Awards 2011 contact Marc McGerty on 07830 361640 or email [email protected].