Benham Publishing Businesss Magazines December 2013 | Page 25

BCCAwards Herts Chamber members sweep the board at regional awards Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce is celebrating after three of its members won places at the British Chambers of Commerce Awards 2013. Ashbourne Insurance Services won the East of England’s Regional Commitment to People Development, Direct Path Solutions won the Excellence in Innovation Award and Rayden Solicitors won both the Marketing Campaign of the Year Award and Katherine Rayden has won Outstanding Personal Achievement Award for 2013. These companies will now go forward to represent the East of England in the national finals which take place in London in November. Yolanda Rugg, Chief Executive of Hertfordshire Chamber said: “We are absolutely delighted that so many of our members have been successful in the regional judging. We know we have exceptional businesses within the county and look forward to the Gala awards in November when we hope they will all be national winners.” Katherine Rayden set up Rayden Solicitors in 2005 when the youngest of her three children was just nine months old. Over the past eight years, Rayden Solicitors has grown to be the largest family law firm in Hertfordshire. The firm employs 19 staff, the vast majority of whom work part time or flexibly, and is this year forecast to turnover just over £1m. In 2013, Rayden Solicitors was described in the Legal 500 directory for family law firms in Hertfordshire as ‘a very good niche practice’ and ‘enormously impressive’. Katherine has just been ranked as a “Leader in their Field” for family law in the prestigious Chambers and Partners directory for 2014. The firm has also been recommended. Katherine said: “I was thrilled to win Hertfordshire Entrepreneur of the year at the Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards and am overwhelmed to have won East of England’s Regional Outstanding Personal Achievement Award for 2013 in the BCC Awards. To discover that we are the only finalists to appear in two categories is amazing and concludes a very exciting and successful year for the firm and I look forward to representing Herts Chamber of Commerce at the National Awards ceremony.” Direct Path Solutions specialise in web technology and communications working in a wide range of industries including local government and pharmaceuticals. It is best known for its flagship product called OWL which helps keep communities safe, reduce crime and keep people informed of what’s going on locally. It’s a shared, secure platform for the public and local authorities to maximise the potential of Neighbourhood Watch, School Watch, Business Watch and dozens of other schemes. Managing Director, Gary Fenton, said “Postrecession, many businesses are working hard to innovate to retain their customers and grow, so I really appreciate how tough the competition must have been. It’s great to go through to the National finals and fly the flag for Hertfordshire.” Peter Smits, Managing Director, Ashbourne Insurance said: “We are delighted to have won the British Chambers of Commerce, East of England’s Regional Award for Commitment to People Development 2013. We have invested in hundreds of hours of training to develop our team and created our own unique charter of service entitled “the Ashbourne Way” to support staff and customers.” INSPIRE 25