The Haverhill Chamber Business Awards was definitely the social and business event of the year so far in 2011. A truly glitzy affair that had guest speaker Claire Young, finalist of BBC1’s The Apprentice, commenting that there should have been an award for the most glamorous person with all the stunning dresses!
The highlight of the evening was the announcement of the award winners. You could sense the anticipation in the room as the nominees and winners were announced. Five of the thirteen awards were won by bestof business members and the Start up Business Award by thebestofhaverhill – making six awards in total!
Marketing company ‘thebestofhaverhill’ is part of the national bestof franchise. Elaine Carr bought the franchise in February 2010 and has developed a network of recommended, local, independent businesses. The monthly events attract high quality speakers and are always well attended by members of the business community. Elaine comments, “I was absolutely delighted to win the award. Thebestof is all about promoting the best businesses in the area so I think it was important that having entered the Start up Business category we were successful. The fact that three bestof business members also won awards was just fantastic, I am so proud of the businesses on thebestofhaverhill and I think this just goes to show that they are the best of the best.”
Donna Revell, General Manager of Days Inn Haverhill collected the award for Environmental Awareness on behalf of her team. Days Inn is committed to reducing their impact on the environment and conserving energy. The initiatives they have taken to achieve this include having room sensors for the heaters, low energy bulbs in all the lights and eco friendly shower heads which reduce water usage without affecting the performance of the power showers. Donna said, “We were pleased to be recognised for our environmental awareness and had a very memorable evening at the Business Awards celebrating our achievement. We will be adding this trophy to the one we won at the 2008 awards!”
The award for Best use of Technology went to local accountants and business advisors Paul Donno & Co Ltd. The judges commented on the way the company use technology to communicate with their clients. Regular newsletters keep clients informed on issues that could affect their business and social media has been fully embraced with all the staff having iPhones and engaging on Twitter and Facebook. Managing Director Paul Donno is something of a “social media zealot” and has used the marketing platform to win new clients as well as reducing cost through finding new suppliers. The company also offer their clients remote support –software is used to access a client’s computer to help them resolve any problems easily and cost effectively.
The star of the Business Awards was arevolution beauty sanctuary who won three awards in total – Small Business, Retailer and the prestigious Business of the Year award. Arevolution are no stranger to winning awards having won the Chamber Retailer Award in 2008 and being voted Haverhill’s most loved business in the bestof initiative “14 days of love” in February this year.
Theresa Foddering, owner of arevolution gives an insight into the secret of their success, “We are a young team but we are all passionate about what we do. Our mission is to make our clients feel great; it’s not just about doing a manicure or a facial. We try to make every client feel special and pampered. We are always updating our services, making sure that we have the latest products and techniques for our clients. We may be a small salon in Haverhill but there is nothing small town about our service or our ambition to be the best!”
Congratulations to all the Haverhill Chamber Award winners and of course especially to our bestofhaverhill business members, who are definitely the best of the best!
Check out the photos on our Facebook page.
