Celebrating the Small Business of the Year Award finalists
The first ever Celebrating Forces Families (CFF) Awards Evening will be taking place at the end of April in London and the CFF Team are thrilled to be sharing news of the Small Business of the Year Award finalists. Four amazing people will be part of the evening’s black tie celebrations to find out who will walk away with the winning trophy.
This award is for a military family member who has set up their own business due to the nature of a mobile lifestyle in the Armed Forces and made it the best it can be, no matter what size.
Meet the finalists
Andrea Baker
Andrea Baker’s focus has been to set up, run and make her print and embroidery business the best it can be, even with whatever military life throws her way! B’s Clothing & Gifts is celebrating its fourth birthday this April and has donated many of its proceeds to charity, including the bags that your gifts are in this evening.
Simone Riley
Being a family military member herself, Simone Riley has a real passion for helping those in the Armed Forces and their families to secure lending so that they can achieve their dream of owning their own home. Simone also uses her influence to educate others on the work involved and how others in the industry can offer support to the military community. Her customer reviews are outstanding: Facebook.com/eliteforcemortgages
Kayleigh Powney
Kayleigh Powney has created Kayleigh Powney Photography that not only captures beautiful moments for families - but also raises the profiles of marginalised people, stands up for women’s rights and advocates for all to feel safe, supported, seen and heard. She is ridiculously talented and her efforts have been recognised by global brands such as Lulemon. She does all of this whilst being the primary care giver for her daughter whilst her husband works in the Armed Forces.
Esther Lunn
As an Army wife, Esther Lunn has moved her business, Lunn’s Mums Fitness Training from Cyprus to Catterick to York to Shrivenham to Glasgow and back to Cyprus. But, wherever she goes, she tries to build a network of mums supporting mums with their physical and mental health, doing her best to deliver classes that are more than just a physical workout.
Award Sponsor, The Black Country Chamber’s Sarah Walker, who runs Supporting the Unsung Hero says:
“We feel privileged to support so many inspiring individuals to start and grow their business and this award recognises the determination, skills and resourcefulness of those within our Armed Forces community. We are honoured to sponsor the Small Business Award category.”
CFF Event Team member, Caroline Woodward, Communications Manager at the RAF Families Federation says:
“It has been completely inspiring to read the many nominations received. In my eyes, they are all winners! Our military families really do contribute massively to the UK Armed Forces, making it the fantastic community that it is today. It will be wonderful to meet and celebrate with all of our finalists on the evening.”
Military families supporting military families
This event really is being brought together from within its own community. The event team are all military family members themselves representing 11 military organisations – some grew up as military children, others as partners or Veterans. This includes additional resources such as Lee Mowlem from remarkablepixel.co.uk, Helen at helenholtphotography.com, Al Topping of xtremeexposures.com, Hannah Illingworth of hivirtualassistant.uk and Andrea Baker of bsclothingandgifts.co.uk.
Thank you to the sponsors
The financial support provided by all of the amazing CFF sponsors has allowed this tri-Service event to be a truly memorable evening for all families involved.
All award finalists
You can read about all of the CFF award finalists through the CFF website.
For more information
Explore the CFF website, or you can contact the team by emailing info@celebratingforcesfamilies.co.uk.