Ashbourne Present FSB Herts Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016

This year’s Federation of Small Businesses’ Herts winning “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” was presented by Sarah Smits of Ashbourne Insurance to Joseph McKenzie of Xupes, Bishops Stortford. Tom Shurville of Distinctly based in Watford, took the runner-up prize. They were presented at a Gala Dinner at the Manor of Groves Golf & Country Club, Sawbridgeworth on Thurs June 23rd to the applause of an audience of approximately 450 award finalists, judges and distinguished guests.

Independent insurance broker, Ashbourne decided to sponsor the award after winning several business award titles (local, regional and national) over the past many years. The 35+ year old family-run business has firsthand experience about the positive impact of winning awards and decided to become a sponsor to encourage local small business owners to get involved to raise the profile of their business and celebrate accomplishments that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Sarah Smits commented, “This particular award is close to my heart and Ashbourne was delighted to sponsor the FSB Herts Business Awards for a second year running. As an “Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner” myself, I congratulate the winner, runner up and all the finalists as I know all too well about all the hard work and nurturing you must add to your business to make it be successful. As SMEs and entrepreneurs are the life blood our country, I applaud the sterling efforts and ambitious plans for growth and sustainability that these Entrepreneurs have contributed. Our UK economy and future relies heavily on small and medium sized businesses so the FSB awards are a great platform in which to showcase SME successes. Against the backdrop of the Brexit vote early on Friday morning, our reliance on the resilience and creativity of SMEs may have become even more important. Thank you to the event organisers and FSB for delivering an excellent event!”