May date for Business Awards

The awards, which are open to all businesses in the Moyle and Ballymoney council areas, will be held on the 29th May, and the venue is again Lissanoure Castle, Loughgiel.

The past two awards events have been held in November, but this year the organisers have opted for a spring event. The fact that it is on a bank holiday weekend should make it even more enticing than ever and since it is a black tie event it is an opportunity for the businesses and their friends and colleagues to enjoy a May ball.

North Antrim Business Agency (NABA) is conducting the awards this year in conjunction with Acorn, The Business Centre in Ballymoney.

Clare Gibson, Chairperson of NABA says: "This makes total sense. We together provide business support to a wide range of businesses across North Antrim and we feel that our joint approach will ensure the widest possible spread of good business involvement."

Businesses are encouraged to come forward and not be shy about entering the awards. There are many excellent small businesses in the area and this is a fantastic opportunity for them to raise their profile and showcase what they do .

There are ten categories of award up for grabs, and businesses are encouraged to participate to sign up as soon as possible.Companies can either be nominated by someone outside the business such as customers or suppliers, or they can nominate themselves.

Nomination forms can be obtained by going online to www.northantrimbusinessawards.com and filling out a nomination form. Alternatively a form may be requested by telephoning North Antrim Business Agency on 02820763737.

Once nominations are received the sifting and shortlisting process will begin. A team of specialist judges will judge each entry in the appropriate category, and there will be a combination of panel interviews and "mystery shopping" to obtain the winners.

The categories of award for this years event are: Retail; Tourism & Hospitality Business/Accommodation Provider: Tourism and Hospitality Business/Eating establishment; Food Production; Creative Industries; Agricultural Business; Community and Social Enterprise; New Start Up Business; Growth Business; Business of the Year; Entrepreneur of the year.