AN ADVOCATE for small businesses across North Yorkshire has been thanked for her commitment to the cause with a nomination in this year’s Press Business Awards.

Emma Smailes, who is the Federation of Small Business’s (FSB) area development manager for the North of England has been put forward for the Business Personality of the Year award.

New to the Northern-wide role, Mrs Smailes has spent the last seven years serving as the development manager for the North Yorkshire Region of the FSB.

She has been nominated for the title by Simon Williams, FSB regional chairman for Yorkshire, The Humber and North East England.

Mr Williams said: “During her time as the development manager for North Yorkshire Emma has consistently gone beyond her duties to ensure that the voice of small business is heard and considered throughout the region.

“Everything she has done has been done to try and improve the voice of the SME’s within the region.

“She has worked very closely with local councils and the Local Enterprise Partnerships to ensure that these organisations consider small businesses in all their thinking.

“She has consistently been heard on the radio and in local media promoting small businesses within the region and can regularly be found answering members queries late into the evening and at weekends, anything to help make life easier for the small business owner.

“Everything that Emma does in her working day is for the benefit of small businesses. Along with all this work that she does she also finds time to perform in a Brass band as well as assist in coaching junior members to learn instruments and join the band.

“She would be a worthy winner of Business Personality of the Year.”

Mrs Smailes started working for the FSB back in 2010. One of the first activities she was involved in was helping to organise the inaugural York Business Week, a role she has held for every event since.

Working on the ground in York and North Yorskire Mrs Smailes assisted 3000 members across the region.