Pictured above: The judging panel are Trevor and Linda
Fletcher, Directors of T Baden Hardstaff
Family owned or run businesses from across the Midlands have
just ten days left to enter the 2011 Midlands Family Business
Awards.
Submissions for the Awards' ten categories, including the
headline Midlands Family Business of the Year, are completely free
and can be made online at www.familybusinessawards.co.uk until
midnight on Thursday 30th June 2011.
The Awards, the Midlands' only initiative to recognise the work
and achievements of family businesses and owners, are underwritten
by Nottingham insurance and financial advisory firm The Wilson
Organisation. They are a charitable, not-for-profit initiative,
with beneficiaries being The Children's Society, The Willow
Foundation and The Venture Foundation.
Headline sponsors of the Awards are accountants Smith Cooper,
with additional category sponsors Aviva, Barclays, Key Personnel,
Positive Outcomes, PwC, Roythornes Solicitors and Unum Ltd.
The Awards' independent panel of judges includes Perween Warsi
CBE, the founder and chief executive of Derby-based S & A
Foods, Parveen Mehta, Director of Birmingham-based Minor Weir
Willis Limited (MWW) and Mark Samworth of Samworth Brothers, who
will lead the panel judging the headline Family Business of the
Year Award.
Also on the judging panel are Trevor and Linda Fletcher,
Directors of T Baden Hardstaff which won the Business Innovation
category in the 2010 Awards. "I would urge anyone considering
entering the Awards to make that leap," said Linda Fletcher. "The
integrity and independence of the judging process provides an
excellent forum for personal development and learning - something
perhaps not usually associated with an Awards initiative.
"Additionally, the networking, business opportunities and
potential success for a family business combine to make entering
this unique set of Awards a highly valuable and sound commercial
decision for any family business. Our success in the Awards has
brought numerous tangible benefits to the business, our staff and
employees."
Other judges on the panel are Tim Storer, MD of Pukka Pies, Nick
Wheeler, founder of Charles Tyrwhitt, Tim John Horrell, MD of
Dodson & Horrell, Kavita Oberoi, of Oberoi Consulting and
Octavian Security, author Peter Leach, Gwenllian Williams, Ron
Lynch of the Institute of Directors, Grant Gordon, director general
of the Institute of Family Business, Colin Slater MBE, Dhiren Katwa
and Andy Coyne.
The ten categories in the Awards are:
• Midlands Family Business of the Year 2011
• Business Innovation of the Year
• Commitment to the Community
• Fastest Growing Family Business
• International Development
• Leading Adviser to Family Businesses
• Service Excellence
• Rural Family Business of the Year
• Outstanding Contribution
• Best Small Family Business.
All Award finalists and winners will be unveiled at a
prestigious ceremony in Birmingham in November.
For more information visit www.familybusinessawards.co.uk or
contact Ped Briggs, The Wilson Organisation, Tel: 0115 942 0111,
email: pbriggs@wilorg.com or visit: www.wilorg.com.