DOES your company and its employees make a real contribution to the local community?

It may be just allowing workers to take a few hours off each week to help out at a local nursing home or hospital or a long term project to create a wildlife haven around the site.

Under a new category in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph East Lancashire Business Awards we want to highlight the achievement of firms and their employees in making the area a better place in which to live and work.

The Business in the Community award, sponsored by leading law firm Farleys, is one of eight categories in this year's awards which together offer a prize pot of more than £14,000.

The competition, this year sponsored by ELTEC, Lancashire Enterprises plc, Farleys and media game specialists Europrint Group, has gone from strength to strength since it was first launched in 1995 and has attracted entries ranging from corner shopkeepers to multi-national publicly quoted companies employing many hundreds.

The awards aim to promote and encourage excellence at all levels in the East Lancashire business community. They celebrate the success of enterprise in all its forms from start-up businesses to fast track growth companies and industrial giants.

There are eight categories open to businesses and organisations including three new ones.

The Marketing and Sales Promotion Achievement award, sponsored by Europrint Group, aims to highlight companies which use innovative and imaginative marketing and sales promotion techniques.

And the Young Business of the Year category, sponsored by ELTEC, aims to find businesses aged between 18 months and three years that can demonstrate growth potential.

The winning entrants will have their prizes awarded at a gala presentation evening in the summer. Entry forms are available now by contacting Tony Williams on 01253 28928 or the Lancashire Evening Telegraph business desk on 01254 678678 ext 258 or by writing to East Lancashire Business Awards, PO Box 19, Blackpool FY1 3NT. Closing date is April 4.

The category list and prize structure are as follows :

Company of the Year - First prize: £2,000 and an engraved silver salver; Runner up: £500 and trophy

Businessperson of the Year - First prize: £1,000 and engraved silver salver; Runner up: £250 and trophy

Small Business of the Year - First prize: £1,000 and engraved silver salver; Runner up: £250 and trophy (open to companies employing up to 50)

Training Award - First prize: £1,000 and engraved silver salver; Runner up: £250 and trophy

Product Development Award - First prize: £1,000 and engraved silver salver; Runner up: £250 and trophy

Marketing and Sales Promotion Award - First prize: £1,000 and engraved silver salver; Runner up: £250 and trophy

Young Business of the Year - First prize: £1,000 and engraved silver salver; Runner up: £250 and trophy

Business in the Community Award - First prize: £1,000 and engraved silver salver; Runner up: £250 and trophy

Highly commended awards will also be made at the judges' discretion.

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