East Cork Business & Tourism Awards - Entries Close 6th September

The inaugural East Cork Business & Tourism Awards – a new initiative designed to celebrate and recognise excellence in business and tourism across the region – launched this week. 
The awards scheme has been created by Cork County Council in association with AIB and the East Cork Journal.  
 
The awards span eleven categories including Best New Business, Best Customer Service, Most Innovative/Unique Business, Best Use of Digital and Best Tourism Experience.  There is also an award for East Cork Young Business Person of the Year, for those aged 18-30.
 
Speaking at the recent launch event in Cork County Hall, Chief Executive of Cork County Council Tim Lucey, thanked partners AIB and the East Cork Journal and said “Cork is making a significant contribution to our National prosperity and as part of that, Cork County Council has a very important role in the promotion of economic development for Cork County.  We are supporting the strong cohort of enterprises trading across all sectors in Cork, by focusing in particular on our strengths in the tourism and small business sector.”
 
An overall East Cork Business of the Year 2019 will be chosen by the judges from all the individual category winners and there will also be a special award for ‘Outstanding East Cork Business Ambassador’ which will be awarded to an individual who has made a significant contribution to business life in East Cork. 
 
Ciara McCrann from the East Cork Journal added “We interact with hundreds of businesses right across East Cork and are very involved with the tourism market too so we get to see the great work and innovation that’s taking place here in East Cork.  We’re delighted to be part of an awards scheme where business success and hard work can be celebrated and profiled locally”. 
 
For the shortlisted companies in each category, the process will include a three-minute pitch evening hosted by AIB in October, where companies will get the chance to impress the judges face to face.  All shortlisted companies will also be profiled in a special supplement inserted into the East Cork Journal in November as well as receiving lots of publicity online and via social media. 
The winners for each category will then be announced at a gala awards event to be held in East Cork in November with one organisation winning the overall East Cork Business of the Year 2019. 

This business will then go up against the equivalent winners from West Cork and North Cork for the coveted title of overall Cork County Business of the Year.  See next week’s East Cork Journal for details about the awards judging panel.
 
Entry to the East Cork Business & Tourism Awards is free and is now open.  Full details can be found at www.corkcountybusinessandtourismawards.ie.