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ET Business Awards 2010: Businesses achieve ‘Olympian’ ideals
The Evening Telegraph Business Awards 2010 at the Exec centre, showground. Roger Black on stage. (METP-19-11-10BD346) Picture: Ben Davis/Peterborough ET
FORMER champion athlete Roger Black inspired and entertained guests with his passion for the Olympics to set the scene as host for this year’s glittering Evening Telegraph Business Awards.
Roger came second in the 400m at the 1996 Olympic Games, but it was the video showing him and team members in the 4x400m relay winning gold over the Americans at the World Championships in 1991 that had people cheering and wanting more to celebrate.
It was a night to reward businesses’ best qualities, such as the innovation, energy and entrepreneurship needed to create a successful company, customer care, people development, environmental excellence and contribution to the community.
More than 300 guests, including business and civic leaders, enjoyed a champagne reception before dinner and the awards presentation at the Exec Centre at the East of England Showground.
The Evening Telegraph’s managing director Richard Parkinson welcomed the many guests to ”our new venue” and thanked sponsors and supporters, and the panel of judges.
He congratulated everyone in attendance, and said that the “standard and quality of entries was exceptionally high this year, and the judges have had many sleepless nights trying to choose just one winner in each of the categories,” before handing over to the evening’s host.
Roger took to the stage and made brief and humorous reference to his TV exploits, and to his “embarrassment” at being beaten by Julian Clary in Strictly Come Dancing.
But it was his love of the Olympics, his drive and motivation to attain his ultimate goal of success, that was the theme of his speech.
Roger talked of his athletics career, of overcoming the adversity of three years out of competition due to injury.
His involvement in the relay win was a special moment in his life, a victory due to both teamwork and tactical nous. But his crowning achievement in athletics, came five years later when he won silver, his own “gold” medal, in Atlanta.
Factors including teamwork, motivation and innovation were reflected in the businesses which celebrated success on the night.
Heading the roll of honour was Orton Southgate-based BGL Group, with its dual victories as the top large business and for contribution to the community.
Other large businesses which were successful were the Queensgate centre, which won the environmental achievement award, and Coloplast, based at Lynch Wood, which won the people development category.
Rob Facer, founder of city developers Barnack UK, won Business Person of the Year and The ET’s special accolade – The Business Achievement Award for Services to the City – was won by Roger Hutchings, former director of Queensgate.
There were wins also for Total Displays Ltd, which triumphed in the Small Business of the Year, while Jaggards took the accolade as Medium Business of the Year.
Advance Performance ran away with the Retail award and Ostomart won the Customer Care award.
And the winners were:
- Retail Award, sponsored by Total Displays Ltd: Advance Performance. Highly commended: Specsavers and Sweet Perfection.
- People Development Award, sponsored by Princebuild: Coloplast. Highly commended: Peterborough Regional College and Greenwoods Solicitors.
- Environmental Achievement Award, sponsored by Opportunity Peterborough: Queensgate. Highly commended: NHS Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals and Eco Building Products.
- Contribution to the Community, sponsored by Peterborough City Council: BGL Group. Highly commended: Larkfleet Homes and Peterborough Garden Park.
- Customer Care Plus Award, sponsored by Minster Housing: Ostomart. Highly commended: Cross Keys Homes and Switch Electrical Wholesale.
- Business Person of the Year, sponsored by Longhurst Group:
Rob Facer.
- Small Business of the Year, sponsored by YTKO: Total Displays Ltd. Highly commended: Coroni and Activ8IT.
- Medium Business of the Year, sponsored by Bulley Davey: Jaggards. Highly commended: Lifestyle Living Group and Ray & Paul.
- Large Business of the Year, sponsored by Barclays Corporate: BGL Group. Highly commended: Motorpoint and Cross Keys Homes.
- Evening Telegraph Special Award, The Business Achievement Award for Services to the City: Roger Hutchings.
Judging panel:
THE Evening Telegraph Business Awards judging panel includes leading figures from the region’s business community.
The panel is chaired by Bill Agnew who is Opportunity Peterborough’s business liaison executive. Bill is also a non-executive director of PECT Consultancy and a governor at City College Peterborough. He sits on the Chamber of Commerce management committee and the City Centre Executive management committee.
The panel includes:
Chris Collier director of Rawlinsons PIP and founder of the NSPCC Peterborough Business Support Group.
Hugh Cripps founder and chief executive of the Peterborough Environment City Trust.
Colleen Gostick managing partner of Buckles Solicitors LLP and chairman of the Greater Peterborough Partnership.
Anne Corder who runs leading agency Anne Corder Recruitment.
Peter Jackson who recently retired as chairman of Kingfisher PLC the international retailer best known in the UK for the B&Q and Screwfix stores.
Iain Crighton, who runs Crightons of Peterborough Ltd and is president of the Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce and is chairman of the Peterborough Chamber.
Tony Barker, who founded, and is a director of, Barker Storey Matthews one of the UK’s top surveying firms.
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