Mark Jones is partnerships manager at Destination Basingstoke. He has worked in Basingstoke for 27 years, including 13 years as editor of the Gazette and eight years as director of communications and fundraising at Ark Cancer Charity.

WHAT does winning look like?

It’s true that winners are the ones who are first past the post; the ones who end up with a trophy in their hands; the ones who have a gold medal around their necks.

However, there are more ways than one to be a winner – to experience that winning feeling.

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What if you achieve a personal best but don’t finish first; you overcome personal challenges to reach a particular goal; you change the way a nation feels about its team but you don’t have any silverware to show for it. Surely these are all winners too?

The amazing month of July 2024 was definitely a time that got me thinking about what winning looks like.

There was the great pleasure of seeing all the winners accept their trophies at the Destination Basingstoke-organised INSPIRE Business Awards 2024 – an event that showcases and celebrates the best business people and businesses in Basingstoke and Deane.

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Then there was the sight of Gareth Southgate’s England team coming agonisingly close to lifting the Euros 2024 trophy – their second consecutive Euros final loss.

Gareth has no silverware to savour after stepping away from the England job, but he will always be a winner to many people, including myself – a kind and caring leader who was the driving force behind a cultural change in the England team and who gave the nation’s football fans hope, pride and that winning feeling again.

Winning matters; winning is great; but it’s important to remember that you don’t always need a trophy or medal to look, or feel, like a winner.