• Swindon & Wiltshire Awards
• Friday March 7 2025
• Author Name: Peter Davison

‘An antidote to what’s going on in the world’ – businesses encouraged to enter Chamber awards

“An antidote to what’s going on in the world” – that was the bold claim from CEO Paul Britton as he launched the 2025 Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Awards on Wednesday.

After a tumultuous weekend in world politics – which saw the US vice president mount an unwarranted ambush on beleaguered Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and describe the UK as “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years” – Paul said the positivity and mutual support generated by the awards was “kryptonite to JD Vance – a statement that says ‘we’ve got this’.”

More than 150 business leaders from the breadth of the Thames Valley region – from Swindon to Slough – gathered at Newbury Racecourse to watch the chamber’s head of business engagement, Sarah Irving, open the starting gate on the competition.

There were also plenty of opportunities to network, and to celebrate the achievements of last year’s winners, many of whom – including 2024 Business of the Year Content Guru and Excellence in Sustainability award-winner Green Machine – were in the room.

Sarah unveiled the 12 award categories, including the four new ones: Commitment to Skills, Multi-National Business of the Year, Rising Star of the Year, and Excellence in Innovation.

Returning categories include:

• SME Business of the Year
• Employer of the Year
• Commitment to the Community
• International Trade Business of the Year
• Most Promising New Business
• Excellence in Customer Service Award
• Best Use of Technology
• Excellence in Sustainability

An overall Thames Valley Business of the Year will be judged from the category winners.

The competition is free to enter and is open to members and non-members of the chamber. The entry form can be found at https://thamesvalleychamber.awardsplatform.com

To help entrants, a free seminar – Ace Your Application – will be run by Sara Witham of Evil Empire Marketing on March 31.

The awards ceremony will be held at country mansion hotel Easthampstead Park near Bracknell on July 2.

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