There is little to beat the adrenaline-charged thrill of going up on stage to collect an award at the industry’s ‘night of the year’. Those who have been in the fortunate position of achieving the recognition of an award can tell you what it feels like. Lee Featherstone, for instance, who won the Tile Fixer of the Year Category in 2016, said as he came off the stage: “I am really delighted with this – particularly since there have been so many good entries. Anybody who thinks they are good enough should just go for it!”
If your business has achieved something to be proud of in the past year, whether it is a particular initiative, a new product, a project or a member of the team who deserves special recognition, you should enter the Awards. It is now time to get working on those entries – you ain’t gonna win it unless you’re in it! Have a think about which categories you can enter – and you have until 31 December to submit your entries.
The full category details and the rules are available on the website www.ttaawards.com. There are some changes to the categories this year, for example the popular Best of Use of Tile in the Domestic Sector has now been split into two categories – Kitchen and Bathrooms/Wetrooms, while there are new categories of Best Renovation Project and Best Ancillary Product. This is to give a better chance in the Awards for all those suppliers of adhesives, grouts and tools.
To enter please use the online entry form which is to be found on the homepage of the website – and don’t forget that entries close on the last day of December.
There are also exciting sponsorship opportunities available. These have been revamped this year to give even better value and exposure to our much valued sponsors, to whom the TTA is very grateful. Full details of all this year’s sponsorship packages, which range from £1,000 to £5,000, are available on the dedicated TTA Awards website www.ttaawards.com. Our leading sponsors are now viewing the TTA Awards as a key part of their marketing activity for the year, so it would definitely be a good idea to check out what’s on offer this year.
The winners in five of the categories will once again be decided by public vote and the Lifetime Achievement Award is decided by the TTA Board, but entries in the other 21 categories go before the panel of judges. The TTA is now announcing the Judging Panel for 2017, who have once again been selected for their wide and varied experience and knowledge of the tiling industry.
The panel is: Edoardo Matarazzo, managing director of Sidcup-based distributor Tile King; Paul Dawtrey, export director and product technical director of Nicholls & Clarke; Mark Pears of Stafford Tiles & Flooring Solutions and himself a former shortlisted entrant in the Awards; JP Kennedy, managing director of Irish company TileStyle; Ian Crowther, northern operations manager for N&C Building Products, and chairman of the TTA Marketing Committee; Paul Luff, national sales & marketing manager at Larsen Building Products, and chairman of the TTA General Purposes Committee; Ian Kershaw, TTA chairman and managing director of Tiles UK; Dave Rowley, chairman of the TTA General Purposes Committee and training manager at BAL; Bob Howard MBE, chairman of the TTA Training Committee and vice-chairman of the European Union of Tile Fixers; Joe Simpson, editor of Tile & Stone Journal; Peter Bell, managing director of BAL and Ardex UK; Ashley Heath, owner of Coventry-based retailer Tubs & Tiles, and previous chairman of the TTA; and Billy Valler, director of Surrey-based contractor WB Simpson. Rarely has so illustrious a judging panel ever been put forward for the TTA Awards!
Finally, if you want to attend the Awards in London next May (and why wouldn’t you?), these are the ticket details: individual ticket prices are £175 + VAT per ticket and tables will cost £1,575 + VAT. Second tables will cost £1,400 + VAT. Please contact the TTA for more information, www.ttaawards.com.
