Businesses across Donegal still have one week to enter the Donegal Business Awards.
Application forms and competition guidelines can be downloaded at www.localenterprise.ie/Donegal and the closing date for entry is Wednesday 10th February 2016.
Serial entrepreneur, Padraig O’Ceidigh will be the guest speaker at this year’s Donegal Business Awards.
The Connemara man, synonymous with Aer Arann, will also host a boot-camp with finalists during Donegal Business Week, which runs from Monday 7th to Friday,11th March 2016.
The Donegal Business Awards are celebrating 20 years of business in Donegal this year. Over the last two decades, the awards have recognised and honoured innovation and entrepreneurial flair within the county. Firmly established as one of Donegal’s most prestigious business accolades, the Donegal Business Awards are open to every business, operating in any sector, which is based in Donegal and employs less than 50 full time staff.
Commenting on the awards, Padraig O’Ceidigh (pictured) said: “I’m delighted to be guest speaker at the Donegal Business Awards, particularly in their 20th year, and I’d like to congratulate everyone at the Donegal Local Enterprise Office on reaching such a great milestone. These awards shine a light on best practice and innovation, recognising people and businesses in Donegal that are constantly evolving and improving their service and customer offering. I’m particularly looking forward to hosting the finalists’ boot-camp as part of Donegal Business Week and would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the entrants the very best of luck”.
Adding to this, Michael Tunney, Head of Enterprise at the Donegal LEO, said: “We’re delighted that Padraig O’Ceidigh is hosting our finalist boot camp this year and we’re excited to be able to share his knowledge and expertise with our finalists.
“The Donegal Business Awards celebrate Donegal’s best and brightest in business and we’re proud to have built such a strong platform for businesses in Donegal, helping them to showcase their achievements. There’s still time for businesses to submit their entries for this year’s awards and I would encourage them to do so – judging by the calibre of the entries that we have received to date, 2016 promises to be another great year.”
Ionad Cois Locha in Dunlewey and FM Services Group in Letterkenny were among the first winners of the inaugural Donegal Business Awards in 1997.
Reminiscing on the experience, managing director of FM Services Group, Annette Houston, said: “We have very fond memories of winning this award but can hardly believe it was so long ago. Our business was only operational a few years when we entered the Donegal Business Awards and we were extremely proud and over-the-moon to win. It was a great springboard for us and we would wholly recommend entering the awards to any business.”
The Donegal Business Awards are celebrating 20 years of business in Donegal this year. To mark the milestone, Head of Enterprise at Donegal’s LEO, Michael Tunney and his colleagues Ursula Donnelly and Eve-Anne McCarron were joined by Doris Doherty, Ionad Cois Locha, Dunlewey and Annette Houston, Managing Director of FM Services Group, who were among the first winners of the inaugural Donegal Business Awards in 1997.
The awards are presented in a number of categories, with the winner of overall ‘Donegal Business of the Year’ receiving a prize of €2,500. The winners of ‘Best Start-Up’ (18 months or less), ‘Best New Business Idea’ and ‘Best Established Business’ (over 18 months), will each receive a prize of €1,500. On the day, one of the finalists will be named as the chosen business to represent Donegal at the National Enterprise Awards’ Final.
The winners of the Donegal Business Awards will be announced at a business lunch on Friday, 11th March, 2016 in The Villa Rose Hotel in Ballybofey. This event will mark the culmination of Donegal Business Week, which runs from Monday, 7th to Friday, 11th March, 2016.
For more information on the LEO and the Donegal Business Awards, visit www.localenterprise.ie/Donegal or contact Ursula Donnelly
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