IoD Director of the Year Awards 2014

What an amazing morning. Andy Wilkinson picked up the Highly Commended Award in the SME Company Category of the 2014 Institute of Directors West Midlands Region Director of the Year Awards 2014

The champagne breakfast took place today at the wonderful Edgbaston Cricket Ground where over 120 businesses came to enjoy a sunshine and champagne fuelled start to the day and hear IoD Regional Chairman Jason Wouhra talk around building the West Midlands’ legacy of hard work and entrepreneurialism and a keynote delivered by Paul Thandi, Group CEO of the NEC Group celebrating the vision for the region’s finest events business and future ambitions.

The OWB team were joined by Ian Nield from Investors in Excellence and Matthew Chapman of Vocal Group for a superb full english, lashings of champers, quality early morning banter and a chance to network with the region’s finest business leaders.

"I am thrilled to have been Highly Commended" comments Andy Wilkinson "OWB grows year on year, we have a highly talented, energetic and imaginative team, wonderful Clients and being part of the Awards is testimony to the great business we continue to build here in the Midlands and overseas through our international network."

"On top of this Award 2014 continues to flourish with new Client wins, exciting new projects and two new members to the team. We will be continuing our drive for excellence and I hope my Award will spur me on later this month when I undertake the Walking with the Wounded Cumbria Challenge to raise money for this incredible charity.”

Andy soaking up the atmosphere and mingling with fellow nominees.

All of the winners from the IOD, Director of the Year Awards 2014.

They think it's all over... It isn't at OWB!

Team OWB was out in force Tuesday night for England’s last (and sadly final) group match of the 2014 Brazilian World Cup against Costa Rica. The game was a dull 0-0 draw but that didn’t slow down the lager or double burger consumption between every missed shot and sloppy tackle.

Another night well spent and hey, there’s always the Euro's in two years!

Norm and Bryony both can't keep their eyes off the prize

The Team OWB lineup

England's performance took it's toll on some harder than others

Selfie sums up The Cumbrian Challenge

Shaz, Me, Rob and Mart on top of a Mountain

Tarns, Crags, Knotts and Stickles....the Cumbrian Challenge

Our first attempt at The Cumbrian Challenge definitely lived up to its name. Challenge!!

Opting for the tougher course it was an immediate climb out of Grasmere up, up, up and up to the Langdale Pikes with the tougher course taking in ‘Bow Fell’ and ‘Crinkle Crags’. 13 hours, yes 13 sweaty, wet, painful hours later we descended back Into Grasmere and back to the event ground where we, that's all 800 competitors, had left full of bacon sarnies and apprehension at 8.00am...

Feeling rather battered it was certainly memorable. Rob, Team Captain, kept up a cracking pace and Martin 'suns out, guns out' Currie proved to be a very able second lieutenant, with Shari and myself providing vital support advice from the back ("is it up again..there can't be any more up")

Enjoyed fabulous company and camaraderie, thank you to the LDC team who organised our teams and everything to get us there and also to the WWTW team who were superb delivering outstanding logistics...plus we even got to see the England game at the Hostel. 

But the big news was delivered by Ed CEO of WWTW who reckoned the £250k raised in 2013 by this single event will be eclipsed this year and the charity will be able to get even more of our wounded back into work outside of the Military.

So thank you for your support. It was tough. Very tough. But well worth it. Get your name down for 2015.

Andy and Shari 

A whopping 13 hour Tougher challenge walk of some 35km...

Techy T-shirts and water bottles brought to us by a wee dram...

Tough and The Tougher Ready to tough it out....

grasmere event ground for the start and finish...every time we saw it it was dark...

The top of one of the crinkles for a few crinkle cut crisps

Top of a pike I think, what an amazing and breathtaking view (Martin takes time out to check the pools)