RECORDS were broken when nominations for this year’s Echo-backed Langtry Manor Business Women Awards closed last week.

Now in its fourth successful year and under the umbrella of the Venus Awards, nominations for women in Dorset hit an all-time high across all fourteen categories.

The most popular award is the Daily Echo’s Business Mother of the Year award, which will be judged in April via public vote through the Echo website.

Mother-of-four and managing director of the Langtry Manor Hotel, Tara Howard, founded the Awards to recognise the efforts and talents of local business women.

Tara said: “It is heart-warming to see so many people going out of their way to show their appreciation for the working women of Dorset. If I had my way they would all receive an award and I hope that even being nominated gives some of these women a welcome pat on the back.”

Whilst three of the categories: Daily Echo Business Mother, Heart Employee of the Year and Jobshop UK Employer of the Year, go to the public vote, the other 11 categories will be decided by the sponsors, who will review every application before selecting the semi-finalists.

The finalists will be invited to attend the grand awards ceremony on June 5 at the Langtry Manor, where the winners will be announced.

The 14 categories are:

  • The BournemouthTown.co.uk - On-line Business Award
  • The Jobshop UK - Employer of the Year Award
  • The Heart - Employee of the Year Award
  • The Basepoint - Home Business Award
  • The NatWest - New Business Award
  • The Move On Rentals - Lifetime Achievement Award
  • The Dutton Gregory - Small Business Award
  • The Princecroft Willis - Entrepreneur Award
  • The Talk Moneywise - High Achiever Award
  • The Darren Northeast PR – Networker of the Year Award
  • The Lexus Poole – Green Business Award
  • The Island Bathrooms – Inspirational Woman Award
  • The Quality Electrical – PA of the Year Award
  • The Daily Echo – Business Mother of the Year Award