In 2010/2011 when I won this award PLMR turned over £965,000.  Two years later we turned over £1,956,000. Staff numbers have doubled. So whilst it’s not the only thing, winning awards at PAN is a hugely exciting thing for what it says about you and where you are going, and also, says that you are proud of what you do, the industry that you work in, and the clients you serve.

I’ve worked in Public Affairs and PR since my first job in 1993/1994 and was and still am incredibly grateful to have received such recognition from my peers, especially considering how rigorous the selection process is, how impressive the CVs are on the long list and shortlist every year.  It remains one of my career highlights to date.  It is so important to read the entry criteria and take time from a busy job, whether in house or in consultancy to make your entry as good as you can. Too often we are so busy delivering for clients that we do not find the time to submit proper entries but we must.

The Public Affairs News Awards are known and understood to be the ones that those in our industry want to win. Look at the companies that have won best consultancy, look at the individuals to have won outstanding contribution, look at the winning campaigns.  These are highly sought after and very harshly judged awards. That rigour is one of the reasons I was so delighted to win.

Having set-up PLMR in 2006 with an idea and a laptop, winning Best Consultant at PAN in 2011 was an affirmation for the whole company, not just me, that the way we do public affairs consulting, with deep levels of policy and political knowledge, with creativity, with lateral thinking, with courage, with strategic nous, with ethics and transparency – was the right way.  Winning at the Public Affairs News Awards provided hugely valuable recognition as to where PLMR had got to.  The award served as a reflection of the hard work and dedication of every single member of the PLMR team over the years – not just me – and included those who had left us on the way. Without their endless amounts of energy and creativity, PLMR would not be the firm it is today and I could not have done what I did in order to win.

Clients loved the winning of this award, colleagues loved it, and of course my own family and friends loved it – I had a great night out with family including my mum who came up to get the trophy with me and who sadly passed away a year later – it was one of the most special nights I had with her.

I absolutely love getting up and going to work every morning and I get great pleasure from helping our clients, some of who have been with us from day one, to achieve their goals.  Winning this award assures our clients that they have chosen the best people to manage their public affairs and gives a competitive edge when securing new businesses.  I think these awards are an important part of our industry’s landscape and I cannot wait to judge this year’s entries.

Kevin Craig won the Consultant of the Year award in 2011. He is MD of PLMR and a PAN Awards judge.

This article originally appeared here.