Editor's comment – February 4

As I write, the Fleet News judging panel is two-thirds of the way through the 2010 awards judging. The manufacturer and supplier
categories have all been determined; just the fleet interviews remain.

And fleet decision-makers still have a day or two left to cast their vote for the highly prestigious company car of the year and fleet manufacturer of the year.

You should have received an email inviting you to participate – if you haven’t, please email me a stephen.briers@bauermedia.co.uk

This has been my first experience of judging for the Fleet News Awards. I joined Fleet News shortly before last year’s awards evening, which left me in the position of presiding over awards where I had no say in choosing the winners.

At least it meant I was blameless – there were no angry company CEOs waving fists in my face (it has happened to previous editors, apparently).

This year, I will be donning my flak jacket.

There will be anger: some that haven’t made the shortlist of finalists; others who missed out on the big prize. But there will also be huge delight and pleasure from the winners.

This mix of ecstasy and disappointment is what makes awards night stand out.

It proves that the Fleet News Awards really mean something – there’s no indifference.

Part of that, I hope, is because our awards are transparent – as proven by the fact they are audited by Deloitte.

We had 100 entries in the 14 categories in which we invite submissions, which I’m led to believe is a record (last year we had 60 entries in 12 categories).

Simply being named as a finalist is something to be proud of – you’re among the best in your field.

We’ll publish names of the finalists in the next issue of Fleet News.

Roll on March 17 when we announce the winners at the fleet sector’s biggest night of the year.