Last month I found out I’d been named Corporate Entertainment Business of the Year at the South West England Prestige Awards 2025/26. I’ve had a few weeks to sit with it, and I still keep coming back to one line from the judges’ notes: they called me “an absolute professional” and “a passionate, enthusiastic and hardworking entertainer who wants all event attendees to go away having had a really memorable experience.”
I want to explain why that particular sentence matters more to me than the trophy itself.
Anyone can say they’re a professional. It’s harder to have an independent panel say it after reviewing your actual client work – the events, the reviews, the testimonials, the way you’ve handled a room full of senior partners after a long AGM. That’s what the Prestige Awards judging process looks at, and it’s a different kind of validation to a five-star review from someone who’d already decided to book me.
The “memorable experience” part is the bit I care about most. My personal why is to lead a life of joy that overflows into the lives of others, and in practice, at a corporate event, that means one thing: making sure the people in that room leave having enjoyed themselves. Not just sat through something.
That’s harder to pull off at a professional services event than people sometimes assume. The material has to flex for the audience, the pacing has to read the room, and there’s a real skill in knowing when to go big and when to pull back. None of that shows up in a five-minute highlight reel, but it’s the actual job, and it’s what the judges were pointing at when they used the word “professional.”
The Prestige Awards has been running for 17 years, and introduced these regional awards in 2018 specifically to recognise independent businesses doing excellent work at a local level. Winners are chosen by an independent panel based on submissions, client reviews, testimonials and publicly available information – not by paying for the privilege. So this one means something.
Thank you to the Prestige Awards, the judging panel, and every client who’s trusted me with their event over the years.