Carlisle wedding celebrant and businesswoman is finalist in awards
A CARLISLE businesswoman has been named a finalist in the 2025 Enterprise Vision Awards (EVAS) - the UK's biggest celebration of women in business.
Kerrie Low, founder of The Birds and The Bees funeral and wedding celebrant service, is shortlisted in the customer service category.
As a solo celebrant, Ms Low specialises in ceremonies that 'reflect the uniqueness of each client'. Her 'creative and heartfelt' approach has earned her a loyal following and high praise across the region.
Ms Low is one of nine women from Cumbria to be shortlisted from over 1,450 nominations and entries nationwide.
The finalists represent a diverse range of sectors; from hospitality and wellness to marketing, food production and professional services.
Iain Pilling, area engagement lead for Lancashire at United Utilities and sponsor of the Customer Service award, said: 'The Enterprise Vision Awards are an inspiring showcase of some fantastic female-led business and entrepreneur talent, and United Utilities is a proud sponsor and judge in this year's Customer Service category.
"We look forward to reading the award submissions and meeting the finalists on the evening."
The EVAS not only recognise business excellence but also celebrate resilience, innovation and leadership.
The next stage includes an interview with an independent judging panel and a public vote.
As part of this year's celebrations, all finalists are invited to participate in an EVAS Reception at the House of Commons, before the winners are announced at a ceremony on Friday, September 26 at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
60-unit tiny home village for the homeless is coming to Tacoma this July
This summer, a new 60-unit, tiny-home village for the homeless will be opening near Tacoma's South Hosmer Street. The project being called Kingfisher Village, 1824 S. 84th St., is a partnership between Pierce County and the Low-Income Housing Institute (LIHI) and is expected to open on July 21, according to LIHI. According to a blog post on LIHI's website, the homes at the village will serve about 70 to 75 people at a time. John Brown, a program manager for LIHI, told The News Tribune the tiny houses are 8-feet by 12-feet wide, are insulated and contain heat and air-conditioning units. The homes will include beds and furnishings. According to Brown, the village will include case-management offices, a common kitchen, community space, security fencing, plumbed showers, laundry facilities, 24/7 staff offices, storage and parking. According to LIHI, the village will serve individuals and couples that are experiencing homelessness in the Tacoma area. People are referred to Kingfisher Village as part of the state's Encampment Resolution program in cooperation with Pierce County and City of Tacoma. LIHI has operated other tiny-home villages under the same model. While most of LIHI's villages are in the Seattle area, a few are in Tacoma, including one at 6th Avenue and Orchard Street. Brown told The News Tribune the site cost $2 million to construct, and the tiny homes were built with help from volunteers, including high school students. According to Pierce County Human Services spokesperson Kari Moore, the county contributed more than $1.9 million to fund the property acquisition and some initial capital costs for the site development — which includes infrastructure, grading and utility installation. Some of the funding was made available to Pierce County through the Washington State Department of Commerce's Right of Way Encampment Resolution Program. The program, previously called the Rights-of-Way Safety Initiative, provides funding to local governments to support programs aimed at reducing encampments in public areas. According to LIHI, the long-term vision for the site is to develop the property into affordable housing, which it has done with other villages in the Seattle area. When asked why the Kingfisher Village was sited near South Hosmer Street, Brown told The News Tribune LIHI wanted to be a part of the growth in Tacoma's Hosmer area — a street that has long been associated with crime and homeless encampments. 'Our long-term goal for the site is to build multifamily workforce housing that will help contribute to the positive growth that is happening in the community,' Brown told The News Tribune. The project is opening at a time where Tacoma is anticipated to lose more than 300 of its homeless shelter beds after June due to a funding shortfall. City officials have maintained optimism they will be able to get state funding made available in the budget to support local homeless programs, but the timeline and process for getting the funding remains unclear.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
60-unit tiny home village for the homeless is coming to Tacoma this July
This summer, a new 60-unit, tiny-home village for the homeless will be opening near Tacoma's South Hosmer Street. The project being called Kingfisher Village, 1824 S. 84th St., is a partnership between Pierce County and the Low-Income Housing Institute (LIHI) and is expected to open on July 21, according to LIHI. According to a blog post on LIHI's website, the homes at the village will serve about 70 to 75 people at a time. John Brown, a program manager for LIHI, told The News Tribune the tiny houses are 8-feet by 12-feet wide, are insulated and contain heat and air-conditioning units. The homes will include beds and furnishings. According to Brown, the village will include case-management offices, a common kitchen, community space, security fencing, plumbed showers, laundry facilities, 24/7 staff offices, storage and parking. According to LIHI, the village will serve individuals and couples that are experiencing homelessness in the Tacoma area. People are referred to Kingfisher Village as part of the state's Encampment Resolution program in cooperation with Pierce County and City of Tacoma. LIHI has operated other tiny-home villages under the same model. While most of LIHI's villages are in the Seattle area, a few are in Tacoma, including one at 6th Avenue and Orchard Street. Brown told The News Tribune the site cost $2 million to construct, and the tiny homes were built with help from volunteers, including high school students. According to Pierce County Human Services spokesperson Kari Moore, the county contributed more than $1.9 million to fund the property acquisition and some initial capital costs for the site development — which includes infrastructure, grading and utility installation. Some of the funding was made available to Pierce County through the Washington State Department of Commerce's Right of Way Encampment Resolution Program. The program, previously called the Rights-of-Way Safety Initiative, provides funding to local governments to support programs aimed at reducing encampments in public areas. According to LIHI, the long-term vision for the site is to develop the property into affordable housing, which it has done with other villages in the Seattle area. When asked why the Kingfisher Village was sited near South Hosmer Street, Brown told The News Tribune LIHI wanted to be a part of the growth in Tacoma's Hosmer area — a street that has long been associated with crime and homeless encampments. 'Our long-term goal for the site is to build multifamily workforce housing that will help contribute to the positive growth that is happening in the community,' Brown told The News Tribune. The project is opening at a time where Tacoma is anticipated to lose more than 300 of its homeless shelter beds after June due to a funding shortfall. City officials have maintained optimism they will be able to get state funding made available in the budget to support local homeless programs, but the timeline and process for getting the funding remains unclear.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Water firms would be foolish to increase salaries to get around bonus ban
Environment Secretary Steve Reed has suggested that water companies would be 'extremely foolish' to increase salaries to try and get around a bonus ban. Six firms have been banned from paying bonuses to senior bosses under new rules that came into force on Friday. Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, Anglian Water, Wessex Water, United Utilities and Southern Water have been told that they cannot issue bonuses for the financial year 2024/25, which concluded in April. Mr Reed said that customers need to have 'confidence' in what water firms are doing, but also said it would not be 'right' for the Government or regulator to be 'capping' salaries in private sector businesses. Asked if he was going to make sure that firms cannot raise base salaries to compensate for any bonus ban, Mr Reed told Times Radio: 'I think they would be extremely foolish to do anything of the sort that you're describing, because (…) these companies need to rebuild their broken relationship with their customers. 'Their customers need to have confidence in what they're doing, their customers are furious at the fact that they're seeing local waterways being polluted, but bosses taking multimillion-pound bonuses.' He later told the BBC that it would not be 'right' for the Government or regulator to be setting salaries. He told Radio 4's Today programme: ''I don't think it's right that government or regulators should be capping the salaries in private sector businesses. 'But those businesses need to have an eye on how their customers are feeling about what they are doing, and there are steps that you can take that are appropriate within regulation.' The firms have all been banned under new rules which prevent bonuses from being paid if a water company does not meet environmental or consumer standards, does not meet financial resilience requirements, or is convicted of a criminal offence. The six companies are not under an indefinite ban, and those firms may be able to offer rewards for the 2025/26 year, provided they stick within the Ofwat rules, under the Water (Special Measures) Act which comes into force on Friday. If a company pays a bonus while it is under a ban, the water regulator Ofwat has the power to get the money back. Under the new rules, Yorkshire Water, United Utilities, Thames Water, and Southern Water will all be unable to pay bonuses to the chief executive or chief financial officer, for the 24/25 financial year. Anglian Water will be banned from paying its chief executive a bonus, but the chief financial officer will not be banned. Wessex Water will be banned from paying its chief financial officer any extra, but the chief executive will be exempt. The exemptions are because people were not in post when the incident that broke Ofwat's rules happened. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data