Entries are now being accepted for the 2019 Waterford Business Awards. The awards are designed to recognise excellence in business across Waterford City & County and are organised by Waterford Chamber, in collaboration with Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber, with support from Waterford City & County Council and WLR.
Pictured are Colin Byrne of Totem, Frank Ronan, Waterford Port, Jonathan Earl, Waterford Chamber President, Oren Little of Totem and a Director of Dungarvan Chamber and Deirdre Houlihan, Faithlegg House Hotel. Pictures: Patrick Browne
Launching the awards at a Corporate Evening with AIB Bank, Waterford Chamber President, Jonathan Earl said, “We now enter year six of the Waterford Business Awards and what an amazing journey it has been. This event has become one of the main talking points on our calendar and we look forward to working with all our sponsors and judges once again to showcase the exceptional businesses that are across Waterford City and County right now.
“We are delighted to be joining forces with Dungarvan and West Waterford Chamber, ensuring the awards are far reaching in celebrating the successes and achievements of the best in business.
“Following on from the success of the previous years and from the hugely positive feedback we received, we have made some changes to existing categories, while introducing some new ones as well, including Exporter of the Year and Environmental Excellence. We are confident the level of entries will be of the highest standard and I certainly don’t envy our judges, under the leadership of Frank O’Regan, the task of choosing the winners.”
Managing Director of WLR FM Des Whelan added: “WLR FM is delighted to partner with Waterford Chamber, Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber, along with Waterford Council on this initiative. It has grown tremendously in the past number of years. The Waterford Business Awards are a great way to promote local enterprise and recognize the hard work, skills and commitment of so many fantastic businesses in this area.”
Opening the event John McSweeney, AIB Bank and Waterford Chamber Vice President said they were delighted to support the business awards since the very start and that as sponsors of the Small Business Award, they were looking forward to seeing some fantastic companies being shortlisted in the new year.
The full list of categories is as follows: Community & Social Enterprise – sponsored by City Enterprise Centre; Entrepreneur of the Year – sponsored by Faithlegg; Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility – sponsored by Morgan McKinley; New Business of the Year – sponsored by Waterford Local Enterprise Office; Retail Excellence – sponsored by Permanent TSB; Marketing Excellence – sponsored by Waterford Institute of Technology; Technology & Innovation – sponsored by Dawn Meats; Training & People Development – sponsored by Waterford Chamber Skillnet; Environmental Excellence – sponsored by KBC Bank; Tourism Attraction/Activity of the Year – sponsored by TOTEM; Best Food & Beverage Experience – sponsored by PwC; Small Business of the Year – sponsored by AIB Bank; Exporter of the Year – sponsored by Port of Waterford.
The judging panel will also select an Ambassador of the Year, along with the coveted Overall Business of the Year, which is sponsored by Waterford City & County Council, all of which will be announced on Friday, February 28th at the gala awards ceremony in the Tower Hotel.
Waterford Chamber welcomes applications from all businesses located in Waterford City and County, both members and non-members. You can enter the Waterford Business Awards through Waterford Chamber’s website www.waterfordchamber.ie, where you will also find a full criteria outline on each category. Entries will also be accepted by emailing the application form or sending it by post to the Waterford Chamber offices.
The closing date for nominations and applications for the 2018/19 Waterford Business Awards is Friday, 8th November 2019.
