To BEEA or not to BEEA?

When one works to organise and judge awards, it is inevitable that one starts to see them as a project; a goal to be achieved. The sheer logistical effort required to collate and process entries; the assembly of the judging panel; the judging day itself; the writing of scripts; the design and commission of the trophies; the briefing of presenters; the organisation of a venue; the design of brochures; menus; etc, etc, etc. All of these factors (and more) conspire to make an awards ceremony a daunting task from the organiser's point of view. None of this is designed to elicit sympathy, merely to explain how it is sometimes possible for those of us close to something like the BEEAs to forget how much the awards themselves mean to those who enter and win them. That is not meant in any cynical sense. All of us involved with the BEEAs take them and the roles we play in facilitating them very seriously indeed. No, what I mean is that, in the hurly-burly of organisation, it is too easy for the real value they have to engineers and companies to be obscured. Of course, all that changes on the day of the ceremony itself. Even as we continue to make sure everything goes to plan, it is impossible for us as organisers to ignore the raucous cheers from tables when their victory is announced, the beaming smiles of those who collect awards and the sense of pride emanating from everyone who has entered and reached the shortlist. So every year, as we start the process and (perhaps) grumble about the amount of work involved, it is those uplifting memories of top-quality companies and engineers getting the recognition and limelight they deserve that inspire us. But of course, the first step towards those moments and memories is to enter the awards. I therefore sincerely implore anyone reading this now who believes they or their colleagues deserve such recognition to enter the 2014 BEEAs. I look forward to reading about your achievements.