Local firm recognised as a leading local business
- Magic Rock named 2015's 'Shooting Star'
- Local firm wins annual business accolade
- Event hosted by HTAFC at the John Smith's Stadium
Huddersfield Town was delighted to host the annual ‘Shooting Star’ award event on Saturday 16 January at the game against Fulham in association with club partner Lucas Lee & Partners.
It was an invitation to all the monthly winners of the 2015 ‘Shooting Star’ award to come together for the ‘Champion of Champions’ event.
Instead of Sean Jarvis, Commercial Director at Huddersfield Town, John Williams, Commercial Manager – Partnerships, Chris Lee from Lucas Lee & Partners and David Wagner, Head Coach at Town, deciding on the winner, this time it was the job of the previous winners to decide who they deemed the worthy winners of the Shooting Star Champion of Champions title for 2015.
The emphasis of this prestigious award is to recognise businesses in the West Yorkshire area who are doing extremely well. There are number of reasons as to why a business could pick up this award; it could be an up and coming business, a business that has picked up a new contract, a business that has come a long way in a short space of time or something else. It is a strong recognition from the Club and Lucas Lee to recognise these local businesses that are succeeding in their chosen fields.
The event itself was hosted by John Williams, Commercial Manager - Partnerships at Huddersfield Town and consisted of a two course lunch, watching the game in the Fantastic Media suite and player interviews with Dean Whitehead, Club Captain Mark Hudson and Under-21 centre back William Boyle.
Other notable events included a presentation from Mark Fitzmaurice, Managing Director of club partner Dale Carnegie, who highlighted his achievements of cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats and the details of Pedal for Pounds 7: The Shankly Tour, as well as an interview with Paul Gowland, Director of Fundraising from Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
After the voting process, the overall winner was named as Magic Rock Brewing Co!
Magic Rock Brewing Co. is the result of three people’s passion for beer. Brothers Richard and Jonny Burhouse, aided by head brewer Stuart Ross, were inspired to start the brewery by their love of great beer and the burgeoning U.S craft beer scene in particular. Driven by a desire to bring exciting characterful beers to their local market and beyond, brewing commenced mid-2011. Exceptional demand in the first few years necessitated an expansion in 2015 to a new 50 hectolitre brewkit housed at a 25,000sqft site close to Huddersfield Town centre. The site also features a bespoke 4000sqft Tap Room where beer fans can taste the beer as close to the source as possible.
The winner was announced post-match and Richard Burhouse (Managing Director) was interviewed.
After the event, Richard said:
“The whole family had a great afternoon, we were looked after really well and it was great to chat with some of the other businesses. I was delighted to win the overall award on behalf of everyone at the brewery, particularly with it being voted for by the other winners. It’s interesting that a shared love of sport can bring local business people together in this way, as it wasn’t something I’d really considered before. I think the Club deserves praise for the way it pursues initiatives within local business and the wider community as a whole.”
It wasn’t just the winners that attended; there were other partners of the club present and various other people that supported the event too.
Huddersfield Town’s Commercial Director, Sean Jarvis commented:
“This is the second year that the Shooting Star award has been in association with Lucas Lee & Partners – it has grown and recognises local businesses and the important role they play in our community.
“We feel it is very important that they get a pat on the back for their achievements. Also, it is great that we can bring these businesses together and allow them to recognise each other’s success. Today, they chose who they believed to be the Champion of Champions!
“Huddersfield Town have been driving this and it is attracting new business to the stadium - playing our role to attract all to the stadium and contribute - we of course hope they come back.
“The event was a great day for all involved. There was just short of 80 business individuals that attended and they enjoyed the meal, the game and the whole experience with many positive comments afterwards.”
Finally, Chris Lee of Lucas Lee & Partners added:
“We are really pleased with the way this joint initiative has been received and an excellent Shooting Stars event. All of the 2015 winners should be very proud of their achievements and after speaking to them on Saturday there’s a lot more to come in 2016, all this on our doorstep here in Huddersfield.
“Massive congratulations to Magic Rock Brewing Co. on winning the Champion of Champions award. Being judged by your peers is the highest accolade and I’m glad I wasn’t on the judging panel; a difficult choice indeed! We enjoyed an excellent day which was very entertaining throughout and look forward to next year.”
