Simply Award Winning: If we can you can

The 'If we can, you can’ Supporters of Entrepreneurship and Business Growth Award Winners have been announced!

After its fourth successful year, the ‘If we can, you can’ Challenge continues to present these special tributes to acknowledge those who support entrepreneurs as they aim to build successful businesses across the region, and for the Business Growth Award, recognising those entrepreneurs who have demonstrated significant growth in their businesses over the past 12 months.

Carole Beverly, CEO of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum said:  “We introduced the ‘Business Growth’ award this year to highlight the importance of growing regional businesses and brought back the ‘Supporters of the Year’ accolade for this year’s Challenge because we believe that it was vital to recognise and reward those who have had an active role in supporting the growth of entrepreneurship in the region.”

Here are the winners for Supporter of the Year and Business Growth:

Hexham Courant

Winner: Ross Golightly from Sphera Consulting

The Journal

Winner: Mark Bryce, owner of United Carlton.

Sunderland Echo

Winner: Ian Smith, owner of Surreal Creative.

South Shields Gazette

Winner: Darren Williams, founder of Harland Corporation.

Northern Echo

Winner: Marj Newman, Operations Director of Patchwork People

Hartlepool Mail

Winner: Melissa Middleton who works for enterprise development consultancy, PNE Group.

Middlesbrough Evening Gazette

Winner: Mark Hill of the Institute for Digital Innovation

Business Growth Award

Normally there is an overall winner for this prestigious award, but the judges were so overwhelmed by the levels of significant growth demonstrated by two outstanding entrants, they called it a tie and were delighted to announce Simply Bows and Chair Covers and Cell Pack Solutions were joint winners!

Sarah Pittendrigh, owner of Simply Bows and Chair Covers.

Sarah said, 'I am absolutely thrilled to have been named as the Business Growth Award Winner, I have been working very hard since setting the business up in January 2009 and to win this award is a great ‘pat on the back’.

“I have been steadily growing the business since setting up however our major growth has happened since franchising in November of that year. Since then we have basically opened a new office every second month, we are now looking to open our 12th and 13th office by August 2011

“We were also recently named as a finalist for the Best Website in the National Franchise Marketing Awards up against companies like McDonalds.”