Picture credit: Poppy Jakes Photography
MORE than 1,000 women from all across the region have been nominated for this year's West Country Women Awards and the finalists were announced this week at a prestigious awards ceremony at Devon's Powderham Castle.
Attended by the Earl of Devon, the ‘tea and cake' event celebrated and recognised those nominated in all fifteen of the categories and was also attended by most of the category sponsors.
Olympic medalist Sharron Davies stepped in as the judge for the category Women in Sport which is one of only three categories as yet unsponsored.
West Country Women Awards co-Director Tess Stuber said: "We have been overwhelmed by the support that we have received for these awards and the astonishing, inspiring stories we are hearing from all across the region. And that support comes too from our fabulous sponsors such as Headline Sponsors Plymouth City Bus who have already committed to two years on board with us."
Alexis Bowater OBE, co-founder, said: "We set out to celebrate and recognise women all around the south west peninsular and within weeks of our launch more than a thousand people had received nominations and feedback in their inbox doing just that. It's been a tremendously difficult task for the judges to whittle down those numbers to the finalists due to the extremely high calibre of entries. We are now really looking forward to the Grand Final on the first of December in Plymouth."
The list of categories, sponsors, finalists and what county they are from, is below:
Women in STEM sponsored by MSubs Ltd |
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Name | Business | County |
Olivia Smedley | Goonhilly Earth Station | Cornwall |
Sophie Bertholon | Imerys | Plymouth/Par/Paris/Devon and Cornwall |
Tasmine Graffy | LHC Design | Devon/Plymouth |
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Green Award, sponsored by LHC Design |
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Elaine Anning | Global City Futures | Devon/Exeter |
Kate Richards and Susan Willis | The Queens at 46 | Cornwall/Camborne |
Lola Grogan | The Eco Laundry Limited | Devon |
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Combatting Violence Against Women and Girls sponsored by The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. |
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Andie Clift | First Light ISVA Service, WAVES Domestic Abuse Counselling Project, Andie Clift Counselling | Devon/Plymouth |
Colette Eaton-Harris | NHS Devon | Devon |
Hannah Shead | Trevi | Devon/Plymouth |
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Inspirational Leader sponsored by Ward Williams Associates |
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Ann James | University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust | Devon/Plymouth |
Emma Hewitt | Plymouth City Council | Devon/Plymouth |
Leah Marsh | Swallowcourt Limited | Cornwall/Truro |
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Women in Tech sponsored by the Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) |
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Tanuvi Ethunanden | Data Duopoly | Cornwall/Penryn |
Helen Prince | ChatterStars | Devon/Torquay |
Caitlin Gould | TECwomen CIC - TECGirls Project | Cornwall |
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Employer of the Year sponsored by St Austell Brewery |
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Allanah Armondi | Thought Quarter | Cornwall/Redruth |
Natalie Crouch | Peaky Digital | Cornwall/Falmouth |
Laura Whyte | Whyfield Limited | Cornwall/Truro |
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Women in Sport - unsponsored. Judged by Sharron Davies and Matthew Johnson. |
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Emma Collings-Barnes | Mount Kelly | Devon/Tavistock |
Sally Orange | Physiotherapist | Endurance Athlete | Mental Health Campaigner | Somerset |
Toni Percival | Exeter Chiefs | Devon/Exeter |
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Employee of the Year sponsored by Womble Bond Dickinson |
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Sarah Newberry | YMCA Plymouth | Devon/Plymouth |
Kerry Bidewell | Plymouth Children in Poverty | Devon/Plymouth |
Katherine Hendrick | COOP UK | Devon/Plympton |
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Women in Health sponsored by Plymouth Science Park and Exeter Science Park |
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Catherine Lewis | SOH Vanilla | Somerset |
Jennifer Searle | Quay Kinetics Physio & Sports Injury Clinic | Devon/Exeter |
Sue Fullilove | University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust and British Society for Surgery of the Hand | Devon/Plymouth |
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The Phoenix Award sponsored by Michael Spiers Jewellery |
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Lisa Telfer Brunton | Kernow Star/ Crowdfunder/CSpace/National Emergencies Trust | Cornwall |
Sandhy Robinson-Jones | The Moving Tribe | Devon |
Sophie Alway1 | Georgia's Voice | Cornwall/Falmouth |
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Best Supporting Act - unsponsored, judged by Trish Caller, Genius PR and Events |
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Fiona Lee | Safeguarding Associates | Devon/Teignmouth |
Michelle Fitt | Your Office Pixie | Cornwall/St Ives |
Elizabeth Melvin | EM Photography | Cornwall |
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Small Business of Year judged by Headline Sponsors City Bus |
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Samantha Jackman | Boost Innovations Ltd | Cornwall |
Amanda-Louise Knight | Amanda-Louise Knight Weddings Proposals And Events | Somerset |
Jacqueline Slade | Stiltskin Theatre CIC - The Soapbox Children's Theatre | Plymouth |
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Women in Construction and Property sponsored by Building Growth South West |
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Carole Barnes | C2 Project Safety | Somerset |
Sarah Lee | Stride Treglown | Devon/Plymouth |
Sharnelle Simcock | The Acorn Progression Project CIC |
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Entrepreneur of the Year sponsored by Continuum Financial Services |
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Alex Kelly | WayMakers Devon CIC | Devon |
Jo Murray | My Coast Limited | Cornwall |
Leanne Whittaker | Southwest Boutique Events | Devon |
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Diversity & Equality sponsored by Plymouth Charter |
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Ana Tereza da Silva Barbosa Richards | Devon County Council | Devon |
Lucy Findlay | Social Enterprise Mark Company CIC | Devon/Plymouth |
Zehra Zaidi | We Too Built Britain | Somerset |
For more information, pictures, help or advice please call Alexis Bowater on 07786 362454 orcontact@westcountrywomenawards.co.uk
For more information on the awards please visitwww.westcountrywomenawards.co.uk
Twitter: @womenawards22
Facebook: @womenawards22
Instagram: @womenawards22