Chamber business heroes finalists revealed
The category finalists in the Black Country Chamber Business Heroes Awards were announced at the close of the third Black Country Business Festival.
Jude Thompson, the chamber president, revealed the category finalists, who will now go forward to the final on Friday, November 13.
Jude said, “I would like to thank everyone that has entered the Black Country Chamber Business Heroes Awards. We have genuinely been overwhelmed by the ingenuity, determination and resilience of the local business community in meeting the challenges of 2020.
“We have received an exceptional number of extremely high-quality entries in every category and the judges have found the shortlisting process extremely difficult. I would like to offer very many congratulations to all the finalists.”
The Awards are headline partnered by the University of Wolverhampton which has contributed and judged three of the 12 categories.
The category finalists are: large business hero of the year – sponsored by chartered accountants, MHA MacIntyre Hudson; Compton Care, HomeServe NHS and Frontline Free Service, National Express West Midlands, Robinson Brothers, SIPS Education, Supporting Communities and Wintech Group.
Small business hero of the year – sponsored by Nant Water Safety Specialists: Clover HR, Cox & Plant, Deans Management Services, Fit Mommas, Lord Combustion Services, Lotus Sanctuary, Penny Post Credit Union and Switch Midlands.
Family business hero of the year – sponsored by CK Chartered Accountants: Dancers, Incomm, Lawrence Cleaning , Lord Combustion Services and Robinson Brothers.
International trade hero of the year: Foundry Machinery & Spares. Intralox and Keltruck.
Start-up business hero of the year – sponsored by Forresters patent and trademark attorneys: ADL Bespoke Security Systems, Isabellas Homes, SBF Consultancy and TP Squared.
Retail resilience hero of the year – in association with Black Country Living Museum: Compton Care, HugglePets and Midcounties Co-operative.
Business hero/young business hero of the year – sponsored by machinery specialists, FMS: John Donovan of JJX Logistics, Adrian Hanrahan of Robinson Brothers and Bradley Moore of Wolverhampton Wanderers Foundation.
Outstanding collaboration and partnership – sponsored by Walsall College: Compton Care and NHS Royal Wolverhampton Trust and Health and Housing Working Together.
Outstanding key worker of the year: Darren Cook and Navjitpal Kaur.
Adaptability and innovation – University of Wolverhampton: Acorns Covid-19 Emergency Response Plan, Coinadrink, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, Saz's Ceramics & Crafts, SIPS Education and Wolverhampton Wanderers Foundation.
Kindness in the community – University of Wolverhampton: Beacon Centre for the Blind, Compton Care, HugglePets in the Community. Midcounties Co-operative. One 4 You Services and Steps to Work.
Exceptional employee or team – University of Wolverhampton: Amy Whitter of Fit Mommas, Blackthorns, IPU Group, Lord Combustion Services, Nant and Wolverhampton bus driver Sarbjit Singh of National Express West Midlands.
The finals event takes place from 3.45 to 5pm on November 13. There are paid tickets at £30, which includes a unique drinks and nibbles gift package that is delivered directly to homes or offices. This ticket also includes a donation to Black Country Chamber President’s Charities; Teenage Cancer Trust and Parkinson’s UK.
The event can also be viewed on a free ticket.
They can be booked through the Black Country Chamber Awards website www.bcccawards.co.uk
