The Chester Grosvenor played host to a fantastic evening on Friday, that included a Casino and disco dancing into the night, thanks to Dee 106.3’s own Gavin Matthews spinning the decks. Most importantly it was a fun opportunity for local businesses to dig deep and support an extremely important and worthwhile cause, with an impressive grand total of £5,300 being generously donated to Hand on Heart, courtesy of Chamber members.
Hand on Heart is a charity with a simple goal; to prevent deaths in children as a result of cardiac arrest, by raising money and awareness. With one defibrillator alone costing around £1,000, it isn’t hard to understand why so many schools are still sadly without, and why fundraising is fundamental to educating people and ensuring that the correct equipment and training is available to communities.
Addressing the audience before dinner, William Hogg, Chairman of West Cheshire and North Wales Chamber of Commerce drew attention to the achievements made in the last 12 months, highlighting Colin Brew, CEO of the Chamber’s recent win of Business Person of the Year Award at the Trinity Mirror’s Cheshire Business Awards and the many successes of the Chamber Team and its members. Following on Mike Spicer, Director of Research & Economics from British Chambers of Commerce spoke about the wider network each member is a part of, and the opportunities and support that being a chamber member can give you. Speaking after the event, Colin Brew CEO of WCNW Chamber said “This year’s Chamber annual dinner and ball surpassed all expectations, a fantastic setting, great food and company and fundraising for our worthy charity, Hand on Heart. It was such a pleasure to see our members celebrate all their hard work and success over the last twelve months. Our award winners should be especially congratulated on their achievements and those who supported the organisation of the event should also be recognised for making it such a wonderful evening”
The winners of the Chamber Recognition Awards were announced as follows;
- Business of the Year Award – Sponsored by Insignia Resourcing Insignia Resourcing Limited – Won by Altimex Ltd & ML Lighting Technology Ltd
- Start-Up Business of the Year Award – Sponsored by Ellis & Co Chartered Accountants and Business – won by JS-PT Health Studio
- Young Person/Apprentice of the Year Award – Sponsored by Arriva Buses Wales – Won by Beth Gittins of West Cheshire and North Wales Chamber of Commerce
- Made a Difference Award – Sponsored by Kite Networks Ltd – Won by Carol Vella of Cheshire West and Chester Council
- Members Choice Award – Sponsored by Umbrella Marketing Team and Armadillo Events – Won by Sarah Bailey of Natwest Business Banking
- Export & International Trade Award – Sponsored by Glyndwr University Wrexham Glyndwr – Won by Becky Stark of Stark Export Focus Ltd
- Business Growth Award – Sponsored by Natwest Business & Commercial Banking – Won by Beehive Healthcare Ltd
Paul Ashton of Kite Networks attended the event, speaking after he said “I just wanted to say thank you for a great evening at the Chamber Ball on Friday. We all thought it was a great night with some fantastic food and wine and everyone just seemed to be having a really good time. Thank you ever so much and we look forward to next year’s event.”
As an icing topper to what was a truly fantastic evening, one lucky guest was fortunate enough to find the ‘Golden Ticket’ hidden under their chair. Congratulations to Steve Pritchard of Evans Halshaw Ford Bretton, the lucky winner of a bottle of Laurent Perrier (kindly donated by Umbrella Marketing Team) and Afternoon Tea at Caer Rhun Hall.
The Chamber is delighted to announce the grand total raised for the deserving charity was an exceptional £5,300 which will cover 5 schools across the West Cheshire and North Wales region. Speaking as a representative for Hand on Heart, Victoria Burrows spoke after the event about how the Annual Dinner provided invaluable support to their charity. “Hand on heart are extremely grateful for the chamber and its members support on Friday evening. We are actively working in the region to raise awareness of how important it is for schools to have defibrillators on site. This funding will make five more schools heart safe by providing the defibrillator and training for both staff and pupils. There are hundreds of schools in the region many of which do not have this life saving equipment, we’d encourage schools and parents to contact us to see how we can assist with making every school in the region heart safe.”
