Our very own Yvonne Gorman has been awarded the ‘Francesca Kemp Award for Small Business’ at Small Business Saturday UK’s special online event celebrating brilliant small businesses across the UK.
‘The Blue Tie’ is an annual celebration of the campaign’s ‘SmallBiz100’, which spotlights 100 inspiring small businesses from across the UK each day in the run-up to Small Business Saturday on 5th December.
Yvonne received the award in recognition of all that she has done for many years to help and support the small business community in Derby and across the UK. Each year, the ‘Francesca Kemp Award for Small Business’ is given to just one special small business owner who demonstrates an outstanding contribution to their local area and the wider UK small business community. It is awarded in memory of former SmallBiz100 Francesca Kemp, who sadly passed away from cancer in 2015.
Michelle Ovens MBE, Director of Small Business Saturday UK, said: “Congratulations to Yvonne for her fantastic achievement in winning this award. Yvonne is an absolute superstar, who does so much to support small businesses, both in her local area of Derby and across the country. She is always generous with her time and goes above and beyond in supporting Small Business Saturday and getting others involved each year. She is a special person who really embraces the community spirit that we see running through small businesses across the UK.”
This year, in line with Government’s Covid-19 restrictions, Small Business Saturday’s annual ‘Blue Tie’ event took place online for the first time. Over 100 SmallBiz100 attendees, past and present, ‘zoomed in’ to the event wearing Blue Tie T-Shirts, that were supplied by Yvonne’s business, Essential Print Services. Guests also received delicious cocktails in the post from Bows n’ Toes and were treated to some truly amazing online entertainment by the Phoenix Arts Club, Jo Porter’s ‘Kitchen Dancing’ and magician David Deanie, creator of Around the Box.
During the event, unbeknownst to Yvonne, fellow Derby business owner, Owen Conti from Code56 was hiding outside her house throughout the ceremony, ready to surprise her with the award presentation – live-streamed to the rest of the event attendees.
This award follows a string of accolades for Yvonne for her work with the Small Business Saturday campaign. In 2013 she was selected as part of the SmallBiz100, then nominated for Small Business Saturday UK Champion, which saw her visiting Downing Street on two occasions. Then, last year, she was named as one of just 12 Small Business Heroes, making her one of the public faces of the campaign. It also follows Yvonne’s recent achievement as runner-up in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards last year, sponsored by Natwest. She is a key organiser in the Derby Small Business Saturday events and actively encourages others to participate, resulting in many other local business owners receiving recognition by the campaign too.
Small Business Saturday is a grassroots, not-for-profit campaign that celebrates small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support businesses in their communities.
The campaign was originally founded by American Express in the U.S. in 2010. American Express remains the principal supporter of the campaign in the UK, as part of its avid championing of the UK high street and commitment to encourage consumers to shop small.
This year, Small Business Saturday will take place on 5th December.
For more information visit smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com.
About Small Business Saturday UK
Small Business Saturday UK is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which celebrates small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and to support businesses in their communities.
In its eighth year, Small Business Saturday is the UK’s most successful small business campaign, which last year saw an estimated £800m spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday, with a record turnout of 17.6 million people choosing to shop small on the day.
