Double whammy of awards for coach firm
ARUNCORN coach company has added two awards in just over a week to its growing collection of gongs.
Anthony’s Travel was named the best small coach fleet for the fifth time and third year running in the UK Coach Awards at Manchester Mercure Hotel and then scooped the responsible business title at the Halton Business Awards.
The honour of collecting the latter fell to Oliver Bamber, 10, who is the youngest son of managing director Richard Bamber and youngest grandchild of the firm’s late founder Tony Bamber.
Richard Bamber attended the event with his son and his mother Anne.
Mr Bamber said he was ‘delighted’ with the brace of gongs, praising customers who had nominated the firm and his parents’ founding ethos of supporting good causes.
He said: “Despite winning this award previously, this really took us by the surprise.
“Each year the bar gets raised even higher, the competition gets tougher and the judging and submission process gets even harder providing countless data and information to be verified.
“What’s particularly pleasing about these awards is the nominations come from customers – you cannot self nominate in this award so it’s humbling and lovely that our customers have taken the trouble to enter our company and hardworking team.
He added: “Prior to the foundation of Anthony’s, my mother and father supported many local good causes and encouraged my brother David and myself to have a similar outlook in life.
“This became the ethos of Anthony’s Travel and many of the causes my parents supported became part of our policy.
“I have long believed the term CSR is often wrongly associated with just large multinational countries, we have shown that small businesses can make a real difference in the community they trade in.
“What they may lack in funding they can more than make up in passion and knowledge of their local area.
“We have seen proven results over the years and have been proud to play a small part.
“It was a real honour when the Halton Foundation asked me to be a keynote speaker at a recent event on responsible businesses standing alongside companies that commercially and financially are bigger than Anthony’s Travel so collecting this award and being recognised locally forf our small ll contribuib tion to Halton was a proud moment.
“What was also fantastic was to look around the ● room and d see such h a diverse group of proactive businesses and staff all playing their part to build a better Halton.”