The nominations for the 2021 Waterford Business Awards have been revealed.
The best in business across the City and County will be announced at the gala awards virtual ceremony, which will be streamed online on Friday February 26th.
30 businesses are shortlisted across 10 different categories.
Customer Service Excellence sees Alfie Hale Sports, Fresh Food Courtyard and Relatecare nominated.
Bodega Restaurant, Everett's Restaurant and Glorious Sushi are in the running to be named best Food & Beverage
Excellence in E-commerce will see Altitude go up against The Book Resort and Murphy Larkin Timber Products
Adesco, Encon and Enerpower are shortlisted in the Green Excellence category.
Marketing Excellence is made up of Liberty Blue Estate Agents, The TEFL institute of Ireland and Visit Waterford
Inn the Doghouse, Love Tramore and Nathan Burke Photography and design are hoping to be named Micro Business of the year
New Business of the Year is between Blue Butterfly Coffee company & Trade, Cove Stores and Iasc Seafood Bar
In the running for SME of the Year are Powerflow Electronics, Q1 Scientific and William Scanlon Dairy Tech
The Technology and Innovation category is made up of Flexiwage, Nearform and Red Hat.
And Tourism Activity/Attraction of the Year is between Dunmore Adventure, The Haven Hotel and Waterford & Suir Valley Railway.
The winners of each category will go head-to-head in the hope of claiming Overall Waterford Business of the Year. There is also a special Entrepreneur of the Year Award which will be revealed during the live stream.
Organisers Waterford Chamber have joined forces again with partners WLR and Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber for the gala awards ceremony which for the first time ever, in light of Covid-19, will take place virtually via live stream on Friday, February 26th.
Speaking about the awards, Waterford Chamber President Danette Connolly said, “It has been an incredibly difficult year for our business community, so I think we all need some positivity and the Waterford Business Awards are sure to provide just that. They will give us the opportunity to honour those who have excelled against adversity and we look forward to announcing the winners at our live virtual event on February 26th.”
Commenting on the decision-making process Noel Kelly, Chairperson of the Judging Panel, said, “The challenges for businesses due to Covid-19 have been enormous so it has been a baptism of fire in my first year as Chair of the judging panel. It has been incredibly humbling and inspiring to review all the entries and understand how resilient and innovative our business community is. There were some very difficult decisions along the way and we are delighted to have such a strong shortlist coming into the awards in February.”
Managing Director of WLR, Des Whelan said he's delighted to be involved with and to promote the Waterford Business Awards. In a very different and disruptive year “The Waterford Business Awards is a beacon of positivity and once again the list of nominee companies in every category is of a very high standard. It’s also very encouraging to see so many new businesses come forward each year and there’s no doubt that a vibrant business sector adds considerably to a county and a region’s well-being.”
WLR will broadcast features on all the shortlisted companies on Deise Today in the lead up to the awards on February 26th, while The Hot Desk on Wednesdays with Mary O’Neill will also highlight the nominated companies. You can listen back to the programmes on podcast on WLRfm.com.
The shortlisted businesses were nominated by the public and also through a self-nomination process. An independent judging panel, chaired by Noel Kelly and including David Breen, David M. Breen & Co; Irial Mac Murchu, Nemeton; Julie Smyth, WLR; John Noonan, Flahavans; Louise Grubb, Q1 Scientific; Tina Darrer, Dooley’s Hotel, TV Honan, Spraoi; and Richie Walsh, Waterford Local Enterprise Office, decided upon the finalist shortlist after a rigorous judging analysis of each application.
