567 Cape Talk, SAGE name Small Business Award winner for 2013

Small Business Awards 2013 Winner - Jeremy McLaughlin (Garden Vision)

Jeremy McLaughlin, was lauded for his commitment to service-excellence by receiving a prize valued at a hundred thousand rand that includes an advertising package on 567 CapeTalk as well as a laptop loaded with accounting and payroll software from Sage Pastel.

The winner and runners up were announced at a gala event held in Cape Town earlier this week, following an extensive campaign to identify small businesses that offer outstanding service in the Western Cape. Listeners of the station were asked to nominate small businesses they have dealt with, who have given them excellent service, and from these nominations, 30 finalists were chosen.

Over the past three weeks, two finalists have been interviewed each day - on the breakfast show and afternoon drive show. All 30 finalists then participated in an intensive round robin interview session with a number of industry experts in various fields to help the judges to identify one winner and two runners-up.

Spoilt for choice

Small Business Awards speakers and presenters L-R Paul Raphaely (Nomu), Steven Cohen (SAGE), John Maytham (CapeTalk presenter), Western Cape Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism Alan Winde & Kieno Kammies (CapeTalk presenter).

As in previous years, the judges found themselves confronted with an array of great businesses. "We had little doubt that each business will continue to add enormous value to the South African and Cape Town economies but, as always, we had to choose. Jeremy McLaughlin has shown that great service can take an everyday business segment and transform it into a viable long-term creator of value and employment. He has done so consistently over the last 12 years and in so doing has established a track record for excellence amongst his loyal client base", comments Karl Gostner; GM of Primedia Broadcasting in Cape Town.

Addressing the finalists at the event, Steven Cohen, Managing Director of SAGE Patel commented, "You are all making it happen and you are an example to other people around you of how you can take your entrepreneurial spirit, move it forward and handle the most pressing issue in this country which is our unemployment rate."

On the competition MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism Alan Winde commented "Competition between businesses is great for improving service. And platforms like this competition give the businesses the recognition they deserve."

For winner, Jeremy McLaughlin, the news is still sinking in. He comments, "I'm really happy about winning the Small Business Awards, this is going to help us become more of a household name and I'm really glad we persisted with the business for 12 years, as it's really paid off! "

For more images of the event, click here.