We are so pleased and proud to let you know that we won Small Business of the Year award in the Swale Business Awards 2015. The award is based on financial performance, entrepreneurial spirit, environmental credentials, marketing skills, community links and employee welfare. We were selected as one of the 15 finalists based on our entry then the next stage was a visit to our studio from the three judges; Gavin Coleman, from Handelsbanken; Krishen Patel, from Thomson Snell and Passmore and Brian Carey, from UHY Hacker Young. They are such lovely guys and made the interview an easy-going and very friendly process. The awards were announced at a Gala dinner held at The BarnYard in Upchurch on Friday 9 October. It was held in a marquee, beautifully decorated with chandeliers and swathes of white fabric. Four of us were there in our best frocks. We were seated with Brian and two of his team from UHY Hacker Young and a lovely group of ladies from The Harmony Therapy Trust. We'd really just gone to enjoy the evening but adrenaline did start to gently flow at the beginning of the ceremony. After all, if you enter an award, you secretly do want to win it don't you? The winner of the Small Business of the Year award was announced with the words, "The business comes from humble beginnings..." and my heart started pumping just a little bit faster. "That fits" I thought, in anticipation. "... and has now achieved international spread..." and by then, I just knew and almost pushed Amelia to go up to the stage before it was confirmed. The award was presented to Amelia, MD of Bombus, by the Worshipful Mayor of Swale, Councillor Anita Walker. And we'd like to offer our congratulations of course to the overall winner, The Swale Business of the Year 2015, which was awarded to Bird And Pest Solutions.   Author: Becky Smith Content editor / Marketing manager