Havant & South Downs College (HSDC) welcomed around 60 businesses to its South Downs Campus for the launch of The News’ Business Excellence Awards.
The News’ Business Excellence Awards provides a platform to recognise, reward and celebrate all the successful businesses and professional individuals we have in our area.
The awards, now in their seventeenth year, are looking for entries from those who can prove business achievement and excellence in their field.
As a sponsor for the successful event, HSDC hosted the launch by inviting fellow sponsors to the College Restaurant to network and promote the awards.
At the launch on 3 October, Mark Waldron, Editor in Chief at The News, said: “It is always a delight to launch the Business Excellence Awards and to get then off the ground. We begin to get ideas coming in and we start to look at brilliant stories around the local area.
“There is a lot of bad news around and as a local paper we need to report what happens, even the bad news.
“However, we look for the positives in our community and the incredible stories we can shout about and the great things that are happening locally. And we don’t just want to hear about these stories, we want to be involved – this is where the Business Excellence Awards come in.
“This allows us to take some time one evening of the year to recognise and celebrate the successes in our local area.”
Mike Gaston, Chief Executive and Principal at HSDC, said: “Havant & South Downs College is itself an educational business. We are seen as a key employer locally with some 500 staff.
“We were keen to sponsor these awards to demonstrate the importance of supporting employers in the community we serve. I am aware of the importance of celebration and recognition of when a good job is being done.
“Sometimes we can get so caught up with our own businesses that we forget what is happening around us, that is why the Business Excellence Awards are important. Please do get involved, I am keen that we will have many entries coming through so we can look forward to a good event.”
The event will be held at Portsmouth Guildhall on 23 February 2018. Closing date for entries is 25 November. To enter or for sponsorship details, visit jpsouthevents.co.uk or email liz.parker@jpress.co.uk