Nominations open for the Sunderland Echo Portfolio Awards - here's how to enter

And we are doing it by launching this year’s bid to find the very best in industry.

The Sunderland Echo Portfolio Awards are back! And we won’t rest until we find the elite who are making a difference to the area.

It could be you, especially if you are one of the people who help to make the area tick.

But we can only hand out awards if we receive your nominations. Individuals, businesses themselves - in fact anyone can put forward a nomination for this year’s awards for a company or individual that they feel is deserving of recognition.

Whoever wins will be following in the footsteps of the 2018 champions Tombola which won the Overall Business of the Year title as well as Large Business of the Year.

Phil Cronin, chief executive and founder of Tombola, made it a hat-trick of successes by taking the Lifetime Achievement title.

Now comes your chance to follow in their footsteps. There are plenty of well known categories from previous years such as small, medium and large business of the year, as well as exporter of the year.

Or you might want to enter sections such as apprentice of the year, technology of the year or best green business.

Whatever your choice, make sure you get those entries in so that we can honour the very best that Wearside has to offer.

Yet again, we have fantastic backers on board to help make the awards a success.

Sunderland City Council is again our headline sponsor, and will sponsor our overall Business of the Year Award, as well as a Lifetime Achievement award, which is in the sponsor’s gift.

It is also backing the contribution social enterprises make to the city in the Social Enterprise Award.

Other sponsors are Gentoo, BIC, Northern Rail, Stagecoach, The Bid, SAFC, Bradley Hall, Sunderland College and the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust. We thank them all for their invaluable support.

There’s plenty of time to enter before the closing date for nominations on September 27. Then, the judges face the unenviable task of trying to whittle down the field into a shortlist.

All of the chosen finalists will get to attend the grand finale. We will reveal the winners at a glittering evening of celebration on Thursday, November 7 at the Stadium of Light.

So come on, let’s get the process rolling by finding those businesses worthy of consideration.

To nominate, email [email protected].