Promotion | PPC92 September 2018
Do you want to be nationally recognised for what you do? As the countdown to PestEx 2019 starts, the excitement begins to build for the second ever British Pest Management Awards.
Our first attempt at an awards night was bit of an experiment to go alongside the Association’s 75th birthday celebration, and you could argue the awards ended up taking most of the limelight! Attendees left the East Wintergarden asking when the next awards would take place, not if.
Well, we’re happy to announce we have a date, venue and award categories for round two. There are some big lessons we learned from the BPMAs mark 1 in 2017:
- Some excellent companies and individuals are doing some extraordinary things in the pest management industry
- Getting nominations for newly-established awards is difficult
- The pest control community loves a party
- Posh venues are expensive
- The industry can put differences aside to recognise excellence
- The industry wants to see the BPMAs return as a regular fixture.
Staying the same
The overriding message remains the same – the BPMAs are here to celebrate excellence, wherever it’s found.
Through the awards, we acknowledge how individuals and companies portray a positive image of the pest management industry by protecting public health, food safety, environmental sustainability and economic significance.
What also stays the same is that the awards are sector-wide. That means, all pest management organisations and their employees can take part, whether you’re a BPCA member or not.
And of course, it’s still free to enter as many categories as you like.
Moving things forward
We wouldn’t be doing our job right if we kept it all the same. After taking on feedback, we’ve actioned a few things which we’re sure will move the BPMAs forward and enable more of the industry to engage with this celebration.
First, we’ve expanded the number of award categories. So now, if you or your company has a great story to tell, there’s more opportunity for you to receive worthwhile recognition.
We have a host of awards suitable for organisations and individuals to enter.
The award categories in full are:
Organisation awards:
- Company of the year
- Small company of the year
- Sole trader of the year
- Local authority of the year
- Community initiative of the year
- Innovation of the year
- Marketing campaign of the year
- Collaboration of the year
Individual awards:
- Technician of the year
- Young technician of the year (below 30)
- Team of the year
- Lifetime achievement award
- Training and development award
- Del Norton fumigation (and controlled environments) award
- Unsung hero
BPCA will also recognise any nominations from our Executive Board for BPCA Life Membership. Plus the Charles Keeble award for outstanding achievement in the Advanced Technician in Pest Management will be returning as a separate award to the Training and development award.
The venue
As we’ve got a few more categories, it made sense to look at a venue which can hold more attendees, and offer a different experience to East Wintergarden. So, we’re heading to Giant Robot, Canary Wharf’s street food ‘rooftopia’.
At Giant Robot, attendees can choose from a wide range of food and drinks, relax and network to their heart’s content (no seating plan). Nominees can celebrate or commiserate with live music and an easygoing atmosphere.
After a full first day at PestEx, the BPMAs at Giant Robot will make it easy for attendees to quickly unwind and speak to plenty of people. We’re certainly not trying to outdo the East Wintergarden event, just offer a different, slightly less formal experience for some respite between days one and two of PestEx. I think we all deserve it!
Lauren Day, BPCA Events Manager
Tickets are amazing value at £79 for members and £99 for non-members. The price includes a drinks reception, five drink stamps, a food passport (four portions from ‘street food’ style vendors), and live entertainment. Try to get all of that for £79 elsewhere in London! It’s best to book now because tickets are strictly limited.
Time to get involved
The take-home news is that:
Enter now
Buy tickets
There’s no excuse for you not to get an entry in before the deadline closes on 1 November 2018.
NEED ANY HELP?
We’re always here if you have a question
awards@bpca.org.uk
01332 225 111
Ben Massey
Marketing and Communications Manager
September 2018 | PPC92
PPC92