Who will be Galway’s 11th Young Entrepreneur of the Year? The success of the JCI Galway Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award can be seen from its 11 years in existence. The competition celebrates the entrepreneurial vision of budding young Galway entrepreneurs like past winners Mike O’Connor of Bellissimo, Liam Dilleen of EZ Living, Pearce Flannery of Pragmatica, and Declan Ganley of Rivada Communications. The diversity of business ventures has been the hallmark of the competition. It was the success of Joerg Mueller’s dream to turn herbal medicine into a profession that led him to win last year’s competition.
“I would encourage everyone with an innovative business idea to enter the Galway Young Entrepreneur competition,” Mr Mueller said. “For myself and Solaris Botanicals the rewards were threefold. Having made great contacts is possibly the single most important feature. The judging process was very thorough, with the judges showing genuine interest in the business and its ideas, with very valuable feedback given. The Galway Young Entrepreneur competition is also about recognising your own strengths and weaknesses and presenting these to the world. Also invaluable for us was the prize fund which enabled us to use the expertise and media exposure of the sponsors. I wish the best of luck to all of the Galway Young Entrepreneur contestants this year.”
The annual awards, which are organised and facilitated by a group of JCI Galway members with the aim to recognise and acknowledge young people in business in the Galway region, who are contributing to the community, creating much valued employment and making a difference to the local economy.
“This is a fantastic and rewarding competition for young entrepreneurs in Galway,” said Breda Glennon, president of JCI Galway. “Now in its 11th year, the Galway Young Entrepreneur competition has continued to be successful and immensely rewarding for participants. Last year’s winner Joerg Mueller reached the final six of the JCI World Creative Young Entrepreneur Awards, representing Galway, Ireland, and Europe. JCI Galway are extremely proud of his achievements. This shows the wealth of entrepreneurial talent that is being produced in the Galway region and we want to bring attention to this.”
Following a series of interviews with an expert judging panel as well as on-site visit, the finalists will be announced and will have the opportunity to attend the awards night on Friday November 13. The JCI Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 will be announced at this special event attended by members of the business community, JCI members, and contestants. The winner will be presented with an outstanding prize package sponsored by the Galway Advertiser, BaseDesign, DHKN Financial Services, Blueprint Coaching & Training, MóR Public Relations, Orla Roche Accounting, and Snap Printing, as well as the Galway Crystal perpetual trophy.
This year a fantastic prize package of €30,500 worth of professional services and advertising from sponsors is on offer. “The JCI Galway Young Entrepreneur Award is truly an opportunity waiting to be grasped,” said Orla Duggan, chairperson of this year’s awards. “As work continues on this prestigious event we eagerly await entries from all budding entrepreneurs.”
This year’s sponsors for the competition include some of Galway’s leading businesses.
The Galway Advertiser, which has been the competition’s main sponsor for many years, is committed to giving the Galway Young Entrepreneur 2009 major publicity in the newspaper as well as a substantial budget for advertising over the next year to the value of €17,500.
Mark Gibbs, a former judge of the event, will represent DHKN on the judging panel. He has considerable experience in advising young companies through their development and growth phases. DHKN is the largest accounting and advisory practice in the west of Ireland with offices in both Galway and Dublin, and will be putting forward a prize fund of €5,000 in professional advisory services for the winner.
MóR Public Relations will provide consultancy services to the winner in the form of PR planning and strategies, media relations, and publicity opportunities. MóR Public Relations is a successful media and public relations agency which was established in 2003 by former JCI Galway president Máirín O’Reilly, an advocate for all that is Galway and who works tirelessly to promote local indigenous companies and provides valuable advice to start-up enterprises. With over a decade of professional experience O’Reilly assists businesses and organisations to enhance their public profile and communicate with their target markets For more information contact [email protected], (087 ) 2407903, or visit www.morpr.com
Orla Roche, qualified chartered accountant and tax technician, provides expert tax and accountancy services to a variety of clients. Ms Roche, as an entrepreneur herself, specialises in small businesses and community groups. She will sponsor a series of five tax consultations to meet the client’s need as a prize for GYE. See www.orlarocheaccounting.com for more information and contact details.
BaseDesign, a local, multi-disciplinary, graphic design agency, is providing the winner of this year's Galway Young Entrepreneur with innovative graphic design solutions worth €1,500. Based in the heart of Galway city, BaseDesign specialises in brand identity, design, and advertising. The company has the ideas, attitude, enthusiasm and passion to create the very best graphic design solutions tailored to every client's budget and requirements. For more information contact [email protected]
Evelyn Cormican, founder of Blueprint Coaching & Training, works with individuals and businesses enabling them to dramatically improve all aspects of their lives — career, relationships, and business performance. Ms Cormican is a neuro linguistic programming trainer and a LifeSuccess consultant. Through her experience in management in the corporate sector, Ms Cormican highlights the need for skills in communication, leadership, and goal setting for success, and improving business performance. New, inspiring, and life-changing courses for autumn/winter 2009 include Think and grow rich, NLP Skills, and The Goal Achiever. Phone (087 ) 6083846 or visit www.blueprintcoaching.ie Evelyn Cormican is immediate past president of Junior Chamber International, Galway and will sponsor training and coaching to the value of €1,000 to the winner.
Snap Printing Galway is run by Patrick Brennan, a runner up in the JCI Galway Young Entrepreneur competition two years ago. Snap Printing has been in operation in Ireland since 1984, providing quality service to customers for more than 25 years. Snap Printing is now Ireland’s leading business print and design group and is offering the winner its service to the value of €1,500. For more information visit www.snapprinting.ie, phone (091 ) 767626, or e-mail [email protected]
RDJ Glynn was established two years ago following the merger of William B Glynn and Ronan Daly Jermyn solicitors. Both firms had identified a strong demand in the west of Ireland for a law firm which could provide a full range of legal services to the business and commercial community. RDJ Glynn employs specialist lawyers in corporate law, employment law, commercial litigation, and commercial property to meet that demand. RDJ Glynn is very pleased to renew its sponsorship of the JCI Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
For a chance to compete in the Galway Young Entrepreneur 2009 competition, simply fill out an entry form which can be found on the JCI Galway website www.jci-galway.org
The closing date for receipt of applications is October 12 2009.
