Over 250 guests attended the prestigious Waterford Business Awards in Faithlegg House Hotel last night, which was organised and hosted by Waterford Chamber and media partners WLR.
A shortlist of thirty-three companies from all across Waterford were celebrated for their successes and their contribution to the local economy.
Topping the eleven categories were Special Branch Carvings, Arts, Culture & Heritage; Dlight Concepts for Best Small Business; The Shona Project for Community & Social Enterprise; Pip & Pear Chilled Baby Food in the Food & Agri category; Nemeton TV in Research, Innovation & Technology; Eirgen Pharma in Manufacturing & Industry; PartyRock Travel in the Emerging New Business category, Redlane Boutique in Retail; Home Instead Senior Care in Services, The Book Centre in Customer Service Excellence and in Tourism, Leisure & Hospitality, King of the Vikings, Waterford Museum of Treasures.
The Judge’s Special Recognition Award was presented to Anne Marie Caulfield, owner and director of Caulfield McCarthy Group, Caulfield’s SuperValu and Caulfield McCarthy Property Ltd, by Waterford Chamber President Paul Nolan on behalf of sponsors Dawn Meats, for her tremendous contribution to the cultural and economic climate of Waterford and for inspiring others through her exceptional commitment, motivation, and vision.
A special presentation was also made to Head of Economic Development of Waterford City & County Council Lar Power, by Chamber President Paul Nolan and Managing Director of WLR, Des Whelan, as he moves to take on the role of CEO of Leitrim County Council.
Mayor of Waterford City & County Council, Cllr Pat Nugent concluded the awards ceremony by announcing The Book Centre as the Overall Business of the Year, sponsored by Waterford City & County Council.
Overall Waterford Business of the Year is @TheBookCentres, sponsored by @WaterfordCounci #wba18 https://t.co/xYvMdlWAiR
— Waterford Chamber (@waterfordcc) February 23, 2018
Commenting at the gala dinner, Mayor Nugent said: "Tonight is about the people in this room keeping our city moving and bringing people onto our streets. Their stories are unique, their determination admirable and it is wonderful to be here tonight to honour their achievements.
Mayor Nugent, went on to say, "Now in 2018 the people of Waterford have the opportunity to dream again. The potential of the North Quays is something quite unique and opens up massive opportunity to attract high skill jobs. It is encouraging to see that a plan is in place for an Ireland of tomorrow and a Waterford with a clear vision."
Each category winner was presented with a custom designed Waterford Crystal trophy and the Overall Winner of the Waterford Business Awards, The Book Centre, was presented with a custom design perpetual trophy. The shortlisted businesses were nominated by the public and also through self-nomination for all eleven categories. An independent judging panel, under the Chairmanship of Frank O’Regan, and including David Breen, David M Breen & Co; Liam Moran, Faithlegg House Hotel; Lena Murphy, WLR; Tina Darrer, Dooley’s Hotel; TV Honan, Spraoi; John Noonan, Flahavan’s; Louise Grubb, Q1 Scientific, Richie Walsh, Waterford Local Enterprise Office and Noel Kelly, NYPRO, carried out the difficult task of selecting the finalist shortlist and category winners after a rigorous judging analysis of each application.
Speaking on the night, Paul Nolan, Waterford Chamber President said, "On behalf of the Waterford Chamber, I would like to sincerely congratulate The Book Centre on being announced as the Overall Winner of the Waterford Business Awards. It is heartening to see a family run business being recognised for their hard work and their ability to sustain their outlets in these times of stiff competition.
"Tonight has seen so many winners come to the fore and their achievements to date have been remarkable. The aim of these awards is to promote and celebrate individuals and businesses for the valuable contribution they make to the economic life of Waterford City and County. All of the finalists tonight serve to showcase Waterford in a very positive light for potential investors in our city and county."
Waterford City and County Council sponsored the Overall Waterford Business Award, while category sponsors include Cpl Resources, TOTEM, AIB Bank, Faithlegg House Hotel, KBC Bank, City Enterprise Centre, PwC, Waterford Institute of Technology, MEDITE SMARTPLY, Waterford Local Enterprise Office, Waterford Airport and Dawn Meats. For further details see www.waterfordchamber.com
And that’s a wrap! Well done to all of tonight’s finalists and winners, and a special well done to @TheBookCentres who picked up the Business of the Year Award! #WBA18 pic.twitter.com/hjittHPEfE
— WLR (@wlrfm) February 24, 2018
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