Everywhere you look along the corridors of Deepdale there are reminders of past triumphs.
But it’s the future winners which were in the minds of judges and wannabe finalists at the BIBAs interviews this year.
Over two days, 160 interviews took place across the 20 categories which will make up the Be Inspired Business Awards.
The traditional first round interviews are a face-to-face with a judging panel who grilled the interviewees and delved deeper into their application forms and testing the validity of any claims made during the original sifting process.
And front and centre of this marathon event were sponsors North End Events, who hosted the interview stage at Deepdale in their superb pitch-side executive boxes which gave great views of the hallowed turf – all being dug up following another hard-fought season for the might PNE.
And in true football side, each applicant had just 45 minutes to stake their case as to why they should be the victor in “the one they all want to win.”
John Rennie, business development manager at North End Events, said: “Hosting the interview stage of the BIBAs was a big deal for North End Events. We wanted to get involved in such a prestigious event and to show off the non-footballing side of Deepdale.
“The days went by in a flash and the team pulled out all the stops to ensure the whole operation went smoothly. We received some very positive feedback from both the Chamber, the judges and the interviewees so we look forward to our continued support of the awards moving forward.”
Once the interviews were over, the BIBAs on Tour kicked off just a few weeks later and on 20th September all roads will lead to Blackpool Tower for the main event.