In his farewell speech to local businesses, our now ex-Prime Minister, David Cameron, reiterated his support for the West Oxfordshire Business awards.
"I am aware of how becoming an award finalist or winner has helped businesses across the district to raise their profile with customers, in addition to boosting staff morale and providing an opportunity to connect and collaborate with other businesses."
For the last seven years, West Oxfordshire businesses, of all sizes, and from all sectors, have been celebrating their successes and linking up with other local businesses via the WOBAs.
We're proud to have been involved from the very first meeting and to have seen the WOBAs go from strength to strength. As we run smoothly through the list of things to do, it's hard to imagine how new it all was and how much there was to learn about running the awards.
The best thing about being involved is getting to know some wonderful local businesses and charities. This year, we've been out interviewing a few of them and finding out more about their individual stories.
Bakers Butchers here in Witney won the retail award last year. The shop is a cornerstone in the Witney market place, selling locally sourced fresh meat.
"We are over the moon. The staff feel recognised and appreciated, and it's really nice to look at what we've achieved and to celebrate that."
Strongbyte Solutions won the Innovation Award on the back of their success with launching their 'Voicepage' technology used by some of the UK's biggest retailers.
“We’ve made some great new contacts that can help us to drive the business forward. This is all thanks to the WOBAs.”
Darren Aston from Aston & James, winner of the Business Person of the Year, exemplifies the maxim that hard work and a clear vision can pay off.
“The WOBAs are a great opportunity to tell your story. Having gone through the process it has opened our eyes to see a number of things that we are doing which we can do better, and other things that we are doing very well and need to continue to do”.
And HENRY, close to our heart as a fantastic local charity, is making a huge difference to the next generation by helping families tackle childhood obesity.
“Winning a WOBA has given us all a big boost – it’s given us the confidence to push forward.”
What an inspiring range of organisations that have taught us so much. We look forward to meeting some more great businesses and charities as part of WOBA2017.
For more information on WOBA, please visit www.woba.org.uk.