Seven successes for Tunbridge Wells businesswomen
Siobhan Stirling, Dawn Stanford and Islay O’Hara
Tunbridge Wells businesswomen took home prizes in seven different categories at the Kent Women in Business Awards 2021. Three of them, Dawn Stanford, Siobhan Stirling and Islay O’Hara all won gold, with six other awards being made finalists from Tunbridge Wells.
Siobhan Stirling, director of Sharp Minds Communications, celebrated her fourth year as a finalist at the event, holding the leadership and management title she had previously won in 2020.
Awarded in recognition of the leadership she has shown during the pandemic by providing free marketing and PR advice to other entrepreneurs and providing opportunities for young people through an education program, she also received the runner-up for the Women in PR and Marketing Award, and Businesswoman of the Year (over five years).
Siobhan said, “It has been an honor to celebrate our hard work over the past 18 months in such a brilliant company among colleagues from the business world who have shown incredible resilience and ingenuity to lead their organizations successfully through the coronavirus pandemic. “
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With her, Dawn Stanford BEM, Operations Manager at Nourish, won the Community Champion Award in recognition of the great effort and dedication that went into helping the people of Tunbridge Wells in 2020.
Islay O’Hara of Islay O’Hara PR was the third Tunbridge Wells finalist to win first prize at the event. As the winner of the Women in PR and Marketing Award, she was recognized for her growing business success, which put her in the leading position in this category.
Kent Women in Business Award Winner 2021
Second place in the Innovation Award went to Élise Daly, co-founder of the all-natural ketchup alternative Wonderchup, who has found interest and recognition for promoting better nutrition without added sugar or salt.
Sophie Forrest from Forrest HR also received a second place in the Entrepreneur of the Year category. Sophie was recently named Entrepreneur of the Year and Most Outstanding Emerging HR Consulting Firm at the 2021 Global Business Insight Awards. and Forrest Health & Wellbeing, a unique holistic program that supports companies and their employees in all areas of their professional and private life.
ActionCOACH Business Growth Expert Lucy Cameron was awarded second prize for Mumpreneur of the Year who helped local businesses succeed through guided development despite their own challenges as a mother of three.
Last but not least is Jess Gibson, the founder of TN Card, a rewards program that supports over 400 independent businesses in Tunbridge Wells and TN zip codes, as well as the West Kent Mind charity.
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