Top business association award for BBA and members

Bembridge Business Association has been judged "Best Business Association in Southern & South East England" in the Calor Village of the Year Competition 2004.

The award, for £500, was presented to Chairman Shaun Burden in December at a formal lunch held for winners at the Millennium Hotel in London. The BBA came in the top six nationally although the organisers did not release details of the finalist's positions.

There were even greater honours for BBA members www.bembridge.com ­ the village's community web site run by Brian and Sue Langford ­ which won not only the best regional Information and Communications Technology category but achieved national winner status with a prize of £1,000.

"The prizes recognises the wide range of activities the Business Association is involved in both for its members and within the community," said Shaun Burden. "There's a real sense of involvement and commitment among our members to keep the village flourishing."

The BBA is a thriving voluntary association, which has grown into a 110-member organisation ranging in size from single person businesses through to aircraft manufacturers and national concerns such as the National Trust and Warner's Bembridge Coast Hotel.

Besides organising meetings, events and visits relating to its members' needs, the BBA is also actively involved in the community and successfully campaigned to save the remaining village bank and keep the sorting office behind the village Post Office.

It also:
o Produces and publishes the annual full colour Bembridge & Harbour Guide of which 20,000 copies are distributed on the Island and along the South Coast;

o Organises the Christmas Lights in the village and runs the lighting ceremonies

o Supports the Hospice "Lights of Love" initiative each Christmas;

o Supports the local First Responder Scheme

o Supports the Village in Bloom initiative helping with the floral displays.

According to Shaun, there was only one blot on the day ... despite the BBA being the Regional Winner, the organiser's large display map omitted to show the Isle of Wight!