AS part of the BBC1 Breakfast news team, Declan Curry addresses thousands of business people on a daily basis.

And now the top business reporter Declan will star at the Evening Telegraph's 2005 Business Awards and speak to the region's top bosses.

The premier business awards are now just over a month away and Declan will be the keynote speaker for the glittering ceremony at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel, Clayton-le-Moors, on Friday, September 16.

Declan is the front man for the BBC's business news from the moment you eat your cornflakes until the time you are ready to start lunch.

He broadcasts on the Breakfast show each weekday morning from the studios at the London Stock Exchange, covering a wide range of stories about industry, work and money.

And, of course, trying to extract news and views from chief executives, trade union leaders, stock market watchers, private investors and individual workers.

Once Breakfast is off air, it's a dash through the rush hour traffic back to the Television Centre for BBC News 24 updates, then most afternoons he heads back to the City for meetings and hush-hush gossiping in the wine bars.

Declan, who was born and raised in Northern Ireland, has been a presenter with BBC News 24 since the channel's launch in 1997.

He has also broadcast for the corporation's international news channel, BBC World, and has just completed a two-year stint as a daily business commentator in America for ABC News.

Before that, he presented BBC Radio Five Live's early morning business programme, Wake up to Money, and produced and reported on a range of programmes, including Radio 4's personal finance flagship Moneybox, Five Live's Financial World Tonight and the World Service's World Business Report.

l The deadline for entries for the Evening Telegraph 2005 Business Awards, supported by the North West Development Agency, has now been extended to August 18.

Is it about time the achievements and success of your business and its employees was recognised?

Then what are you waiting for? Enter the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's 2005 Business Awards, supported by the North West Development Agency.

This is the chance for your business to receive the plaudits it deserves for its outstanding contribution to East Lancashire's economy and business profile. There are ten award categories and we want to hear your success stories.

Have you boosted your sales? Doubled your turnover? Won that lucrative contract or increased your exports?

Are you worthy of the title Business Person of the Year or does your firm have an employee who has gone that extra mile to make the company a success? Do you take training and workforce development seriously?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then contact us now for an application form.