A NEW awards initiative has been launched to shine the spotlight on independent businesses in the county.
Jessica Angus, 32, is an event and wedding planner and launched The Northumberland Awards in February to highlight local businesses.
"I've been in attendance at quite a few awards over the past few years with my current job, more so for the wedding industry and I noticed that the North East was branched mainly with Yorkshire."
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She wanted to give smaller Northumberland businesses a chance to shine, so launched the concept of The Northumberland Awards this year.
Jessica said her friends and her bosses, who own The Bosk, Brampton, have been very supportive. Jessica is the general manager of The Bosk.
Awards will take place this year for Weddings, Hair and Beauty and Hospitality sectors this year.
"Once I'd spoken to people about what they'd like to see in the awards, everyone said they would rather see an awards concept they could enter for free, rather than pay a huge fee of £70 plus. The only thing businesses have to pay for is tickets for the awards ceremony if they want to come.
"Once I've got the awards up and running, I'll do an awards for local charities which will be completely free for them because they're volunteering to make things better.
"I love doing things like this, I've been involved with events since I was 13 years old just in the local community," she added.
The Weddings awards will be the first to open for nominations and entries on March 31.
For more information, email Jessica at events@vinandvineevents.com.
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