THE county’s best businesswomen will be celebrated at a gala night on Friday at the Oxfordshire Venus Awards.

Winners of the awards, which celebrate women in business, will be revealed at a ceremony at the Oxford Belfry Hotel.

The Oxfordshire Business Mother of the Year Award, sponsored by the Oxford Mail, is one of 15 categories in the awards, After months of preparation – which saw thousands nominate and vote for their favourite – the winner will be the person with the most online votes.

From more than 60 nominees the contest has been narrowed down to the final three mums who have succeeded in their own businesses.

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Lesley Southam runs a cake business while also caring for stepdaughter Robyn, 16, and children Cameron, eight, and Millie, six.

The 40-year-old, from Banbury, said: “I’m working on making cupcakes for the other women at the ceremony.

“I’m not worried about winning, just getting to the final three is achievement enough. My husband Nick is coming with me to the ceremony while the kids are being babysat by grandma. It will be a nice evening off.”

Jody Fletcher is the director of Banbury-based Chilli Promotional Products, which sells branded corporate items like mousemats and jumpers.

The 37-year-old mum of two-year-old Lottie said: “I am really excited and quite nervous about Friday.

“It would be amazing to win, but also completely terrifying because I’m quite shy, so going up on stage would be scary.”

She is taking her mum, Vicki Patrick, and sister, Nicky Patrick, for moral support. She said: “They both helped me loads and I thought it would be nice to treat them to a nice night out.“ The last finalist is Julie Mutton, from Wootton, near Abingdon, who runs beauty company Bare UK, in St Aldate’s, Oxford.

The 44-year-old, who is mum to Ruben, nine, and Phoebe, four, said: “I’m trying not to think about it, but I am really looking forward to it.

“I’m taking quite a few girlfriends. There’s about eight of us going, we’ll be a big noisy table. It would be really nice to win. It would mean a lot to recognise where I have got with my business and balancing it with my life.”

Check the Oxford Mail on Saturday to discover the winners

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