World champion who defied death urges firms to go for gold

Judge was told he wouldn’t walk again after a near-fatal car accident in 2002. But his determination to prove the doctors wrong led to him taking up sport and he twice became world champion at paratriathlon, which comprises swimming, cycling and running.

The speech by the 44-year-old, whose slogan is ‘don’t lean on your excuses’, provided a motivating finale to the autumn conference, which was hosted by the North Notts Business Connections organisation, in partnership with Bassetlaw District Council.

Held at the Osberton International Horse Trials, near Worksop, the conference was attended by businesses from across the region. And as well as Judge, they heard from two other top-flight speakers, who are both experts in their field.

First up was commercial finance expert Mike Wells, director of the Nottingham-based firm, Argentum Finance Ltd. He explained the current market on lending and asset finance, reassuring local businesses that there were plenty of resources and routes to finance available for efficiency, cost saving and growth.

The second speaker was Matt Williamson, co-founder of the Gainsborough-based firm, Drumbeat Marketing UK. He gave a succinct and enlightening presentation on social media and how to best prepare business websites to gain the maximum benefit from web searches by consumers.

David Armiger, director of regeneration and neighbourhood at Bassetlaw District Council, said: “We have had some fantastic feedback about the quality of the event and of the speakers. This is just the sort of activity we need in the district to help develop our thriving business sector.”