How you can honour Wearside business women who are leading the way

JPI Media North East Editorial Director Joy Yates with the sponsors of the new Wearside Women in Business competition. Pictured left to right with Joy are Rhian Hayes (TCL At Home), Mark Burns Cassell (MBC Arts Wellbeing CIC), Jade Gilbertson and Lorraine Belford (Club Zest), Carol Long (Gentoo), Lynn Wild (Regional Events Manager, JPI Media North East), and Paul McEldon (Sunderland BIC).

Today, we are launching a competition which aims to reward the women champions of industry in our area.

It is called Wearside Women In Business and there are nine titles to be contested. Each will herald the amazing work which deserves to be honoured.

So take a look at the categories and decide which one is most appropriate for you.

Perhaps you know a female who has launched a company and it has got off to a storming start. Then you should choose the ‘Start-up Business Woman of the Year category’

The Rising Star section is for those who are making people sit up and take notice of their rise up the entrepreneurial ladder.

And we want to hear about new starters who deserve to win the Apprentice of the Year category.

Then there’s the people who make a difference in their neighbourhood. They stand a chance of winning the Contribution To Community category.

We’ve got the Women In Education Award and the Mentor of the Year section for those who tirelessly give them time to help others.

If you’re the person who everyone looks up to, you could be our Inspirational Woman of the Year.

And if you’ve made a difference to the business world over a long time, you could be our first ever winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Do you know someone who deserves to be the Business Woman of the Year? That’s another of our categories.

Watch out for much more on all of the categories in the weeks to come.

For now though, we want your nominations.

You have until September 2 to send us your entries and the judges will meet to draw up a shortlist three days later.

Then it is on to the grand finale – a lunchtime awards ceremoney on Thursday, September 26.

All this has been made possible with the help of our sponsors and they are Sunderland BIC, Gentoo, Club Zest, WBC Arts Wellbeing and TCL At Home.

We thank them all and we will have more on each of them soon.

But for now, we need your nominations to make the event a big success. Email [email protected] and tell us the name, address, business of your nominated person and why you feel they deserve to win.

Get nominating and let’s honour Wearside’s women who really make the business world tick.