Lincolnshire Media Business Awards 2009: Nominations open

Tough times can cause businesses to flounder or even fold – but they can also bring out the best in firms.

The Lincolnshire Media Business Awards are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate achievement in the face of adversity.

Steve Young (from sponsor Barclays Commercial) congratulates Lincoln's The Old Bakery chef Ivano de Serio and owner Alan Ritson who took Winning Business (less than £2 million category) award last year.

And showcase accomplishments to a premier regional business audience – for free.

For those with courage and foresight, the awards are an opportunity to stand out from the crowd, highlighting your company's successes, talents and products to an ever-widening audience.

Now in their 13th year and presented in association with the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the awards are a firmly established highlight of the region's business calendar. And each new competition produces fresh stars.

But winning aside, simply being profiled as an entrant provides opportunities to attract new customers, investment, talent and ideas.

The awards reach a glittering climax in November with a gala dinner and presentation ceremony to be held at the Epic Centre on the Lincolnshire Showground.

Those proceedings, along with video profiles of the finalists, present a golden opportunity to attract interest from an audience of several hundred business representatives.

This year's line-up features the Business of the Year Award, Small Business of the Year Award, Business Innovation Award, Supporting the Community Award, Customer Care Award and the Best Use of IT & Communications Award.

Sponsoring the awards are PKF, Business Link, Lincolnshire County Council, Lincolnshire Co-operative Ltd, Mouchel and BT Local Business Lincoln.

Launching the 2009 Awards and thanking the sponsors, Echo editor Jon Grubb said: "Too many people think that challenging times are when they can least afford to spend time and effort on promotion.

"But those are the times when it is most important to shout from the rooftops about what you do, how good it is, and the excellent service you offer."

For more details, including an entry form, see Tuesday's Lincolnshire Echo. Alternatively, click here to go to an online submissions form.