ORGANISERS have revamped the judging process of the annual Open 4 Business awards.

Companies are being urged to lodge their entries for the new look awards before the deadline of 5pm on September 11.

This year there will be three award ceremonies in Weymouth, Lyme Regis and Bridport.

Open 4 Business steering group chairman Gareth Jones said: “This year, the award categories have been designed to attract a wider range of business sectors types and sizes.

“We have included four new award categories – export, technology, tourism and apprenticeships – to improve the award appeal to larger and more mature businesses.”

A new judging process has been introduced for the 2009 awards.

All entries will be collated, recorded and acknowledged by the projects manager at Weymouth College.

There will be eight judges from Dorset including Business Link, Weymouth College, and other business led organisations and consultants.

The judging will take place initially on September 14 when the awards will be marked according the criteria set out on the application form.

The judging panel will meet again on September 17 at Weymouth College where every award will be reviewed and marked by the team of judges.

Three finalists for each award will be selected and announced.

The winners will be announced on October 7 at the Weymouth Award Ceremony, October 13 in Lyme Regis and Bridport on October 15.

All entries must be submitted in writing to Sarah Colwell, Weymouth College no later than 5pm on Friday, September 11, 2009.

Contact Mr Jones on 01305 838476 for more information.