JUDGING
PANEL
18 | Aycliffe Today Business
The Make Your Mark judging panel (left-to-right): South Durham Enterprise Agency business support manager Ian Coull, Aycliffe
Business Park chair Kerina Clark and Business Durham’s business development director Sarah Slaven. The Northern Echo’s business
editor Andy Richardson and UTC South Durham principal Tom Dower (missing) are both also on the panel.
By Martin Walker
Independent panel lined up to judge Aycliffe Business Park’s Make Your Mark awards
An independent panel of judges from
various circles of North East business have
been brought together to judge Aycliffe
Business Park’s latest Make Your Mark
awards.
Make Your Mark 2015 – a competition
which is exclusive to Aycliffe Business Park –
will now take place on 10th February, at the
Xcel Centre.
The business park’s steering group has
appointed five people to judge entries for the
11 awards which are up for grabs.
The panel consists of The Northern Echo’s
business editor Andy Richardson, UTC
South Durham principal Tom Dower, South
Durham Enterprise Agency business support
manager Ian Coull, Business Durham’s
business development director Sarah Slaven
and Kerina Clark, on behalf of the Aycliffe
Business Park steering group.
They will judge 11 Make Your Mark
categories which will include Apprentice of
the Year, Apprenticeships, Company of the
Year, Employer of the Year, Engineering &
Manufacturing award, Export award, Heart
of the Community, Newcomer of the Year,
Service Business of the Year and the Small
Business award.
Entries can be made online at www.
aycliffeawards.co.uk – there are no
complicated forms to fill in – and people can
enter their own business as well as others.
The deadline is 22nd January 2016.
Kerina Clark, chair of the Aycliffe Business
Park steering group, said: “We’re really
pleased and excited that we’ve managed
to bring together four people from a good
stretch of different sectors, who all bring
something very different to the judging panel.
“Tom has worked in industry and now has
an involvement in the education and training
side of things, Sarah and Ian bring a broad
view of business and you have Andy and
myself for a bit of local knowledge who know
the business park inside-out.
“One of the main reasons we do this
is because we want to showcase the
companies that live and work on Aycliffe
Business Park, and how great they are, so
getting other people involved, who have a
wider circle of influence, will help is to spread
the word of the business park – and its
tenants – a lot further.”
Andy Richardson, business editor of
The Northern Echo, said: “In my job I am
lucky enough to report on some of the
amazing businesses in our region and the
people behind them. It is so important for
us to celebrate success stories and get the
message out there that, despite the many
challenges the North-East faces, there are
great things happening here too.
“These awards help to showcase how
Aycliffe Business Park continues to play a key
role in that success.”
Business Durham’s business development
director Sarah Slaven said: “We know there
are some great business stories on Aycliffe
Business Park, and it’s really important that
we celebrate that by getting the message out
to a wider audience.
“Also, by encouraging businesses who
might not have previously been involved,
it’s a golden opportunity for them to come
forward and tell us about themselves and
what they’ve achieved.
“There’s a really vibrant business
community here already, but we know there
are a lot of companies which we haven’t
heard about yet. The Make Your Mark awards
provide a great platform to showcase their
stories and celebrate all of the fantastic
companies here on Aycliffe Business Park.”
Ian Coull, business support manager at
the South Durham Enterprise Agency, said:
“The Enterprise Agency exists to support
enterprise growth.
“Award ceremonies like this help to
showcase the great work that’s going on
around the business park, and doing things
they don’t often shout about.
“It also gives them an opportunity for their
customers, employees and other people to
nominate them for something.
“It’s a bit of a cliché but they’re all winners
on the night, because they’ll have been part
of the judging process and many of them
shortlisted, which will help to increase their
visibility out there.
“And for the winners, of course, there’s a
great opportunity to pull in more business.”
The Make Your Mark 2014 winners
included Tekmar (Company of the Year), Ebac
(Engineering and Manufacturing), Meditek
(Export), Emerald Biogas (Innovation), Gregg
Little Testing Centre (Service Business),
Xcel Centre (Employer), Gestamp Tallent
(Apprenticeships), Tom Wise, D&S Services
(Apprentice), Aycliffe Today Business
(Newcomer), Beanies (Small Business) and
Thrive Marketing (Heart of the Community).
The deadline to enter the 2015 Make Your
Mark is 22nd January, and businesses can
enter online at www.aycliffeawards.co.uk
Tickets for the evening itself have been
subsidised to make them affordable for all,
and they’re priced just £29.95 each, while
sponsorship packages are also available
from www.aycliffeawards.co.uk or by
emailing [email protected]