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North East stop off for ?Royal tour?

The North East is to feature in a nationwide tour to urge businesses to bid for ‘corporate knighthoods’. The ‘Royal Tour’ will take Queen’s Awards officials venues across the country from the South West of England to Scotland, including a stop off at The Sage in Gateshead on Thursday 20 July, 2006 for a breakfast seminar.Stephen Brice, Secretary to The Queen’s Awards Office, and David Moore, Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee, are aiming to encourage firms large and small to enter for The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2007.This year 145 companies won Queen’s Awards - the highest total for 11 years with eight in the North East. But Stephen Brice is convinced that the number could be higher. He said: “Wherever we go, previous winners tell us how much they have benefited from their Queen’s Awards. One said, ‘It’s ‘just like a corporate knighthood’, and another that ‘it’s the ultimate business accolade’. Businesses described the Award as ‘prestigious’, ‘a quality standard’ and ‘symbolic of success’. Many claimed it gave them an edge over their competitors, while exporting companies found it invaluable as an overseas marketing tool.“During the tour, Award officials and previous winners, will explain to prospective applicants how to apply for Awards, and more importantly what the benefits are of winning. They will also invite nominations for The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion, a relatively-new Award for individuals.The deadline for this year’s Awards is 31 October 2006. Winners and recipients will be announced on 21 April 2007. More information about the Queen’s Awards can be found at: www.queensawards.org.uk/

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .