More than 130 people packed the room at the inaugural Wakefield Business Awards by We Are Wakefield on 10 November, sponsored by Wakefield First.

The awards had been put together by WAW MD Claire Sutherley & Awards Writers Founder Louise Turner, to celebrate thriving SMEs from across the district, and the night itself, hosted at the sparkling CAPA College, didn’t disappoint.

With 31 finalists from all corners of the district across categories spanning growth, new business, sustainability, best employer, community contribution, and innovation, the trophies were hotly contested.

ITV’s Christine Talbot anchored the night, which saw Solupak take home two trophies – for Thinking Sustainability and the We Are Wakefield member award, which was given to the member entry with the highest number of points across all categories.

We Are Wakefield’s Managing Director Claire Sutherley said: “We had this crazy idea of setting up some awards earlier in the year because we really believe in championing Wakefield businesses and providing a platform for them to show off their amazing work.

“It was incredible to listen to so many success stories and hear the judges’ comments about our worthy winners.

“We worked hard to create a really robust process with every entry judged three times and scores kept separate, so all of the winners can be really proud of their achievement.”

The winners on the night were:

• Innovative business of the year – Tagtiv8
• Large business growth success story – Quest Waste Management
• Medium business growth success story – MINT Support
• Small business growth success story – RV2 Power
• Thinking sustainability – Solupak
• Outstanding community engagement – Frickley Athletic in the Community Foundation
• New business of the year – The Hive Wakefield
• Entrepreneur of the year – Chelsy Holland of True Beauty Academy
• Large employer of the year – Elis
• Medium employer of the year – Bluebird Care Wakefield & Kirklees and Northern Media (two winners)
• Small employer of the year – Juice Personnel
• We Are Wakefield member of the year – Solupak

Harper Talent, which specialises in sourcing top talent for growing businesses, has always taken great pride in their partnerships.

Whether colleague to colleague, colleague to client or client to prospective candidate, every partnership is approached in the same way – with genuine interest, a friendly attitude and, of course, a brew in hand.

In fact, this focus on cultivating long-lasting partnerships is so important to the team that it even inspired a recent rebrand.

As Director Charly explained, ‘Having grown up on my family’s farm, where pitching in and pulling together was commonplace, I noticed that this willingness to ‘get stuck in’ had followed me into the world of business.’

‘I also saw this same attitude reflected in my incredible team, who really cared about building meaningful relationships with clients and each other. I knew that a rebrand was needed, and what better name than that of the farm itself? Harper Farm, meet Harper Talent!’

Since their rebrand, the Harper Talent team have continued to work their socks off to help each and every client build a winning workforce. If you, too, want to work with a team of talent-finding experts who genuinely care about your success, reach out to Harper Talent.

Get your place booked for a WAW quiz night with a difference! Open to WAW members, friends & families (adults only). The Quarry Bar & Restaurant, Horbury, Wakefield.

Book in a team of 4 or as individuals and we’ll team you up on the night!!

Arrival 6.30pm for a 7.15pm start with 10 questions and 3 wines – bread sticks & olives on tables

8.15pm Break with food: meat & cheese platters, breaded chicken wraps, fries

8.30pm 10 questions and 3 wines

9.30pm sweet plates

Prize for winner and booby prize for lowest score!

£25 per person – £5 per person deposit taken on booking and deducted from bill on night.

BOOK HERE TO ATTEND

Can you believe it’s almost Christmas!?

We Are Wakefield members (this is a members only event) are invited to a festive afternoon of networking and celebrations as we bring 2022 to a close. The event will commence at 3pm at The Quarry Restaurant & Bar, Horbury.

It’s been a massive year for WAW and we would like to thank you for being part of it.

Welcome drinks, nibbles and a festive twist as our key speaker slot goes to Mr Christmas himself, Nearly Bublé, to get us into the spirit along with another surprise guest or two!

Christmas jumpers are encouraged!

A not-to-be-missed get together for the We Are Wakefield business community.

BOOK HERE TO ATTEND

Would you like to sponsor an Oak Tree at The Wakefield Business Awards?
You will be making the event beautiful yet sustainable as you sponsor a junior Oak Tree as a table centre piece and a symbol of growth.
Sponsorship is £100.

The tree will be planted after the event and will carry your branding on the table and you’ll be listed in the event brochure and on our website in the event details:

We Are Wakefield · Representing diverse sectors around Wakefield and Five Towns

To sponsor a tree contact us at: [email protected]

                     

Wakefield based Greenkeeper have over 20 years’ experience in maintaining commercial grounds, gardens and golf courses.

A small friendly team that offer a full range of gardening services including:  mowing, pruning, weeding, strimming, hedge cutting, hard & soft landscaping, tree work & planting.

The team are passionate about creating green spaces for people to enjoy that are kind to the environment.

Look out for Theresa (pictured below) from the Greenkeeper team at the WAW First Friday events!

In light of recent events that have affected our nation, we have decided to extend the closing date for entries to The Wakefield Business Awards to allow you more time to submit your entry.

CLOSING DATE IS NOW 21 SEPTEMBER 2022

Click HERE for more information on how to enter

The We Are Wakefield team wish to express our deepest condolences to The Royal Family on the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

You set up a business because you’re passionate about what you do. But it’s not just your passion – you’re great at it. And that’s where your energy should be going. But as you’ve grown, all this other stuff has come into play: employing people. Managing them. Picking up the pieces when it doesn’t go to plan.

All that takes your focus away from what you’re good at and what you love.

And this is where Mint HR come in. They work with business owners and people managers around Yorkshire to make sure that everything people related is run for the good of the business: to make their clients an employer of choice, to keep issues to a minimum. To make everything run smoothly.

You may simply want to set up proper policies and procedures to ensure clarity and consistency or you might have a crisis brewing and have no idea how to handle it. Whatever your needs – help is just a phone call away.  Contact Tracy Carpenter – Pictured – for more information.

 

 

Dark Cherry Creative have over 25 years experience helping businesses achieve their long and short term goals. They are a creative agency that help clients with all things website, design and marketing related. They work alongside and support a wide variety of companies in a broad collection of sectors. This allows them to deliver fantastic results and help for your business no matter the size or the industry you work within.

We asked, where did the name Dark Cherry Creative come from?   The response was, “It’s really not that exciting, and no it isn’t food related!”

“One day Richard (pictured)  and James were sat chatting about previous freelance projects and the names of businesses etc. James mentioned a gripe he had that his company was called True Blue, but there wasn’t a Pantone reference named True Blue.

At the time Richard was sat in a maroon coloured shirt, we both agreed that we liked the colour. “it’s like a plum colour… James, we can’t be a pair of plums!”. Let’s talk with Charles and think a little more… OK, it’s like a Dark Cherry Colour… after a little research and a few other suggestions, we found Dark Cherry is a Pantone colour! You can imagine the delight for James.

We made it happen, a company name with a Pantone reference. There you have it, the most boring way to come up with a company name.”

Look out for Richard at our First Friday events and say hello!