| A record number of entries this year. All who have participated this year should be proud to have been involved. To all of those that then made it to the Finalists stage, we salute you. To those that go home this evening with a Highly Commended mention, you should be especially proud. The winners will be announced, to much fanfare, by each award sponsor. We look forward to celebrating their success. We express our great gratitude and appreciation to our three judges, all highly respected members of the Sussex business community. We thank them for their valuable time and their diligence in reviewing all this year’s entries. Their final choices were deeply considered. Our Panel of Judges had this to say about this year’s awards: |
 Dee Mathieson Managing Director of Elekta Ltd., Chair of gdb “We found this to be a really positive and interesting experience. The calibre of the companies we interviewed and what they are achieving in the Burgess Hill area is so impressive. Great to know that we have so much talent in the region and to hear how companies are giving back to the communities and worthy causes.” Charity Champion Green Champion Community Champion Best Business |
 Dr Kul Verma MD of Deep Insight “EDI – all entries have really good intent and a willingness to make the environment the best it can be, The emphasis on recruitment and sharing experiences really shone through Winning Workplace: The entries provided positive workplaces where there was respect and pulling out the stops to get things done. Team of Stars: Entries showed how people can work effectively together with strong relationships to innovate and create agile ideas to challenge the market.” Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Champion Winning Workplace Team of Stars |
 Paul Rolfe Associate Principal of Chichester College Group, Chair of Chichester Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Chair of Crawley Town Centre BID “Wow the quality has blown my mind! It was really tough judging.Thank you for the opportunity. I opted to select four finalists to showcase the amazing talents I reviewed and in two categories I also needed to select a Highly Commended as it was so close.” Bright Star Businessperson of the Year Star Apprentice Future Talent & Skills Champion |
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