Would you like to be part of this year’s Swale Business Awards?

Companies can either get involved by joining the list of sponsors or by nominating themselves for the chance to win one of four categories.

The categories are: small business of the year, customer service and commitment, international achievement, and Swale business of the year 2014.

The only entrance requirement is that businesses must have been trading for at least 12 months on or before July 31, 2014.

Entries will be whittled down to a shortlist of finalists.

They will then be visited in person by one of the judging panel: Liz Jordan, partner at UHY Hacker Young; Steve Offer, commercial manager for HSBC; and Krishen Patel, a solicitor at Thomson Snell and Passmore.

Awards will be presented at a gala dinner in October. The overall winner will receive £1,000.

Registration for the event is now open. Full entries can be made following the launch event, which is set to take place at The Old Brewery Store, Mill Place, Faversham, between 6pm and 8.30pm on Thursday, April 3.

The event is free to attend but places are limited.

The sponsors backing this year’s awards are: Kent Science Park; McNealy Brown; the University of Greenwich at Medway; IMM-UK; HSBC; Swale Borough Council; UHY Hacker Young; Thomson Snell and Passmore; Medichem International; JH Property Management; Shepherd Neame; Macknades Fine Foods; Chalkwell and the KM Group.

Sittingbourne News Extra, the Sittingbourne Messenger, the Sheerness Times Guardian and Faversham News will provide media coverage in the run-up to the grand final.

To register, visit www.swalebusinessawards.co.uk or email a scanned copy of the entry form to rosie@swalebusinessawards.co.uk

You can also post entries to Swale Business Awards, Rosie Collins, c/o IMM-UK, Woodstock House, Winch Road, Kent Science Park, Sittingbourne ME9 8AG.

To book your place for the launch, visit sba2014launch.eventbrite.co.uk. For more information, call 01795 506321. To sponsor the event, contact Paul Price by emailing paul@swalebusinessawards.co.uk.