Celebrating success and centenary in shimmering style

8 Jul

This year’s Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards were a particularly special occasion given that it is the Chamber’s centenary year. Exceptional businesses and entrepreneurs from across the county received the recognition they rightly deserve during a night of entertainment and celebration.

Few people will ever get the chance to attend the Oscars, but the county’s business community was able to experience its own version at this year’s Inspiring Hertfordshire Awards.

The Chamber’s awards are always a special occasion, but it was a night particularly worth celebration this centenary.

The 1920s-themed awards night was at Tewinbury Farm Hotel near Welwyn, with a glittering guest list including HM Lord-Lieutenant Robert Voss CBE CStJ, Hertfordshire Community Foundation CEO Paul Robin and numerous business luminaries from across the county. Energetic musical group The Collective provided an appropriately lively soundtrack to proceedings.

Big winners on the night included Stevenage animal-free testing firm ImmuONE, which was named North Herts Business of the Year, while co-founder and CEO Dr Abigail Martin picked up the award for Entrepreneur of the Year. The night got even better for ImmuONE when it was named Inspiring Business of the Year, one of two special prizes presented on the night and chosen by the awards’ headline sponsors Viatris and SA Law.

The other special prize was Outstanding Contribution to Business, which was won by family-run property and investment firm RO Group.

There were four double award winners – recruiter Quanta Consultancy Services, luxury destination Sopwell House, air compressor and vacuum pump specialists Air Energy, and office designers Woodhouse Workspace.

Chamber CEO Donna Schultz said: “What a night! I think I speak for everyone when I say we were truly blown away. So many wonderful anecdotes, so many great people recognised, so many super new connections made – it really did have the lot. We set the bar high but it exceeded all our expectations.

“These awards are obviously about celebrating the achievements of others, but they are also about taking stock and appreciating your own successes. The pride in the faces of our superb winners was clear to see and spoke thousands of words.

“There’s nothing quite like the feeling that all the hard work has paid off – and I hope that our winning businesses can take confidence from this and push themselves on even further to reach the next level. We will be there with you all the way.

“I’d like to thank everyone who made this such a marvellous success, from our winners and highly commended businesses right through to all the people behind the scenes without whom this just wouldn’t have been possible. This was a massive team effort and I’m hugely proud of you all. I’ve no doubt our centenary Summer Party will be another super occasion too.”

A share of the ticket receipts for the awards went to the Hertfordshire Community Foundation, the Chamber’s charity partner for 2024.