Who will you nominate for this year's Mansfield Chad business awards?

The dynamics of our business and the awards have taken a turn this year, just like many others.

However we feel that celebrating the achievements of our community is paramount and therefore, with some adjustments to include both business and community together, we invite you to put your entries forward and join the celebration business excellence in Mansfield and Ashfield.

It’s unusual to change an annual event, but to put it mildly, 2020 is quite an unusual year.

We’ve put the launch back, along with the entry deadline and the event date as naturally earlier in the year when entries are normally compiled, there were more unprecedented challenges presented.

Preparing your entry for the awards should provide an opportunity to reflect on the positives, rather than the negatives and to share your success with the wider community.

The unusual nature of this year’s trading will naturally factor into the way awards are assessed.

For instance, the Innovation category criteria has been amended to include ‘what were you able to do to mitigate against the effects of the pandemic?’

Also we have included a Big Thank You award, providing you the opportunity to tell us about your Coronavirus community heroes.

We are really looking forward to hearing your stories, about how you have survived and thrived against the backdrop of this pandemic. Together we will get through this.

You might be reluctant to nominate yourself because ‘you’re not good enough.

Who says you're not and how do you know if you don’t try?

Or you might be fearful of failure, but entering awards isn’t always about winning, it’s also about what you make out of the opportunities and your journey.

Many who have plucked up the courage to enter our awards over the past thought they weren't good enough but ended up walking away with a trophy.

Completing an entry is worth every second of your time as it makes you think about what you've achieved to date, where you are now and what your goals and aspirations are for the future.

This year’s ceremony is scheduled to take place at the The John Fretwell Centre on Thursday, December 10, taking the form of a hybrid event with limited numbers attending but also, for the first time, the event will also be streamed live on social media platforms.

These are this year’s categories:

Innovation: An ability to navigate market conditions is crucial for a business to survive, so how has your business adapted to change, or utilised an innovative idea in order during the past year, and what were you able to do to mitigate against the effects of the pandemic?

Community Contribution: Businesses play a significant role in the community through charity or education and many firms have played a crucial role in supporting their community during the Covid-19 outbreak.

This award aims to recognise those local businesses who have taken the time to give something back, especially during lockdown.

Independent Retailer of the Year: The past few months have been challenging for local retailers so we would like to hear how your business has adapted to reach your target market or simply to survive during the Covid crisis.

Best Place to Eat/Drink

Open to any business that serves food and/or drink, we want to hear about your business and how you have adapted to serve your customers during the Covid crisis.

Professional Services: Open to organisations of any size, we want to hear about your business and what measures were taken or services to the community provided, in recent months.

Customer Service: Customer service is an essential part of any successful business and this award aims to reward and recognise a company, individual, or team, for their outstanding achievement in providing exceptional customer service.

Excellence in Manufacturing: This award will be presented to the company that demonstrates a modern, efficient and innovative approach to manufacturing.

We want to hear about how your business was able to survive the Covid-19 crisis.

Education: This award is to recognise the great work within the education sector during the Covid-19 outbreak, from schools to teachers, childminders, nannies and childcare settings that have gone above or beyond during lockdown.

Lifetime Achievement: The judges are looking for an individual who has had a major impact on their business and the area over a number of years.

If there is someone we should consider for this award, please provide a name and brief overview of their achievements for them to be a contender.

The Big Thank You

The coronavirus lockdown has seen a surge in charitable work with people simply looking out for each other, whether friends, family, neighbours, strangers or an organised group.

Tell us about your coronavirus community heroes.

Entries are now open and will close on Friday, October 30 at 6pm.

Click here for more information and to submit an entry.