The winners of Great British Expos’ South West Business & Community Awards 2020 were announced at a glittering ceremony on Thursday 23rd January at Swindon’s DoubleTree Hilton hotel.
Over 250 guests attended the event that celebrates the region’s most ambitious, inspirational and exciting charities and individuals. The night was compered by Alison Edgar, the award-winning founder of Chippenham-based, Sales Coaching Solutions.
The awards recognise a wide cross section of entrepreneurs and innovators, highlighting those blazing a trail in their respective industries.
Alec Jones-Hall, organiser of the awards, said, “We have winners from across the South West which speaks volumes for the reach of the awards. We have winners from Plymouth, Bath, Swindon, Bristol, Cheltenham and Torquay.”
Judges of the awards include serial South West entrepreneur James Phipps, property millionaire Roslyn Bell, and Anita Jaynes, Founder of The Business Exchange.
THE SOUTH WEST WINNERS 2020
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMMUNITY
Clean our Patch, Plymouth
Judges’ Comments: “To organise 20 volunteer groups with 30 ambassadors to pick up over 65 tonnes of litter is an incredible impact. A great example of local people coming together to have a huge impact on a local issue.”
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Joint winners: Shirley Ludford, Swindon 105.5 Community Radio Station and Steve Whiteway, Plymouth community champion
Judges’ Comments: “Impossible to split two people who have dedicated their lives to their local communities but in different ways.”
CHARITY OF THE YEAR
Harbour Housing, Cornwall
THE LEISURE & TOURISM AWARD
BookingLive, Bristol
NETWORKER OF THE YEAR
Lee Randall, Pybus (Devon Partnership)
Judges’ Comments: “To connect 200 businesses in four months in Devon and with plans to keep going was so impressive to us all.”
APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR
Leanne Finch, Sixways Surgery, Cheltenham
YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Ben Lawton, Ottr Works, Swindon
Judges’ comments: “Ben comes over as a talented and driven young entrepreneur, achieving £100K turnover in the first full 12 months, making personal sacrifices along the way.”
FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Sophia Ali, Amma Life, Bristol
MALE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Aaron Cash, Finish Electrical, Paignton
START-UP OF THE YEAR
Bespoke Hub, Torquay
SME OF THE YEAR
SMD Ltd (Structural Metal Decks Ltd), Poole
EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR
Joint winners: Excalibur Communications, Swindon and Rocketmakers, Bath
Judges’ Comments: “It was too difficult to decide between these two worthy winners. They have both demonstrated their huge commitment to their staff and creating positive working environments.”
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
Rocketmakers, Bath
Judges’ comments: “Recent winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise and a major grant from innovate UK should ensure they hit their target of 50 per cent growth. They clearly demonstrated their passion to engage in the community and help young people into coding.”
Unique to the South West Business & Community Awards, all profits raised from the awards ceremony are donated to selected charities.
To find out more about the awards visit:
www.southwestbusinessawards.co.uk
Pictured above: The South West Business & Community Award Winners 2020 on stage at the DoubleTree Hilton, Swindon
