SILVERSMITH Paul Butler is again making his mark by providing the prestigious trophies for the Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards.
The winged trophies are plated in silver and gold and will be presented to the best in the Yorkshire business world at the awards ceremony at the Queens Hotel in Leeds tonight.
Silversmith and designer Mr Butler, originally from Liverpool, has liv
ed and worked in Sheffield for five years after scooping a place at a new studio set up by the city's Persistence Works – a collection of artists' workshops and galleries on Brown Street.
An audience of 400 of the region's key business leaders will gather at the event, now in its second year, to celebrate the best of Yorkshire business.
The 10 categories cover every aspect of business in the region and see companies ranging from new start-ups to big international players competing for the coveted awards.
The guest speaker is Shadow Foreign Secretary and Richmond MP William Hague and the master of ceremonies is BBC breakfast presenter Declan Curry.
The major sponsors of the awards are Yorkshire Forward, Yorkshire Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers and DLA Piper.
The champagne reception at the event has been sponsored by Leeds-based construction group Hewlett which is in civil engineering, building, rail, plant and machinery, residential and commercial property development.
The growing group, which was founded in 1987, now employs more than 400 people and is headquartered at Thorpe Park.
THE second annual Yorkshire Post Excellence Awards brought together some of the finest companies and entrepreneurs working across the region.
The 10 categories covered every aspect of business in the region and saw companies ranging from new start-ups to big international players competing for the coveted awards.
Sean Mahon, a man who has successfully combined the corporate world and supporting community projects, was honoured with the Individual Excellence Award.
It was presented by guest of honour, Shadow Foreign Secretary and MP for Richmond, William Hague. The event was presented by Declan Curry, the business reporter on BBC Breakfast.
The major sponsors of the awards are Yorkshire Bank, Yorkshire Forward, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and DLA Piper.
The associate sponsors are Yorkshire Science, Meadowhall, White Rose University Consortium, Bradford University School of Management and Cummins Turbo Technologies, of Huddersfield.
The Hewlett Construction Group generously provided the champagne reception.
The judges of the awards were David Spicer and colleagues at Bradford University School of Management; Wendy Harrison of DLA Piper; Trevor Gregory of Yorkshire Science; Darren Bryant and Steve Crow of PricewaterhouseCoopers; Alex McWhirter of Yorkshire Forward; Patrick Walton of Yorkshire Bank and the Yorkshire Post's Business Editor David Parkin.
Peter Charlton, the Editor of the Yorkshire Post, said: "With entries up by more than 50 per cent I know how difficult the judges found it to decide on the eventual winners.
"Yorkshire is vibrant place to live and to work. It's become so through inspiration, imagination and the sheer brilliance of a diverse collection of businesses and individual entrepreneurs.
"Yorkshire's economy – which makes it a global powerhouse – is in excellent health.
"And Yorkshire – whether based around our strong and enduring traditional industries or new technological development – is enjoying a renaissance as a consequence.
"The Excellence in Business Awards are about celebration, about saluting the best of business trading both at home and abroad," he added.
