William Whitmey: From Three-Time Winner To First-Time Sponsor

Written by Wesley Horan on 22nd April 2018

After winning a Swale Business Award for the last three years, William Whitmey Independent Funeral Directors felt that the time was right to make the transition from entering the awards to helping to ensure the awards continue running by becoming a sponsor.

“For us, it wasn’t just about what we could take away from the awards, but what we could put back,” Managing Director Alex Whitmey explains. “Business is about growth, input and building a stable foundation on which to flourish, and the Swale Business Awards are the same. Having won three business awards we felt that it was time to plough back in some support. Many businesses win something and then just disappear, but we have really enjoyed our interaction and wanted to remain a part of the process so we believe that being a sponsor is the next step. We feel that when other businesses see what we as a small business have achieved they will have more faith in their product and themselves.”

William Whitmey have a rich history with the Swale Business Awards, having won the Customer Care and Commitment Award in 2015 and 2016 and then following that by winning the coveted Swale Small Business of the Year 2017. Throughout that time, the business has thrived – they have continued to grow and have just taken on another staff member. They are also exploring opening a second location.

Alex discussed why he was keen to encourage more local business owners to get involved: “The Swale Business Awards are well organised and publicised and they are the perfect local event to celebrate business achievements. As a business owner I cant understand why every Swale business doesn’t get involved! It is free, the entry process is uncomplicated and very straight forward, there is fantastic coverage and you get plenty of opportunities to demonstrate what you do and speak passionately about the work you do.

“As a new business our initial entry was partly as an exercise in learning the process whilst gaining some free publicity but ever since winning our first award we have gone from strength to strength. We are the first business since the business awards began 11 years ago to win an award and retain it the following year and we are the first business to win three awards in consecutive years and we are proud to have been now accepted as one of the sponsors for this prestigious event.”