But directors Glenda Papac and Delyse Del Turco know none of the annual celebration of business success would be possible without the generous support of so many people such as the 2014 judges - Jenny Hirst, Virginia Wren, Dianne Chalk, Sylvia Searle, Terry Widdicombe, Margaret Reveley, Erin Campbell, Stacey Gow, Belinda Gauci, Angus Dobb, Lisa Gallagher, Vi Blazevska, Stephen Bynon, Margaret Biggs, Julie Norris, Jan Kerridge, Candice Gilchrist and Warren Saunders.

All the judges represented the sponsors, who were key to the event, Mrs Papac said.

They include the Illawarra Business Chamber, Illawarra ITeC, Suncorp Business Banking, Hillross Fairy Meadow, datagirl, IMB Business Banking, TAFE NSW Illawarra Institute, ANZ Bank, GJ Gardner Homes Illawarra, Tony Papac & Associates and Better Business Accounting.

Wednesday is the last day for ticket sales at www.iwib.com.au.

This week, with just a few days left in her reign as IWIB Business Women of the Year, Maralyn Young spoke of the fantastic year it had been and she said she could not believe how much had happened.

Mrs Young said because of the recognition, she was featured in a national buying group magazine, which was seen by the Australian Retail Association which gave her business, Casamia, a two-page spread in its national monthly magazine.

She was then invited to enter the national ARA awards and was selected as one of five finalists in the Independent Retailer of the Year Award.

She then entered and won the Excellence in Small Business category of the Illawarra Business Chamber's awards and made the finals of the NSW Business Chamber's annual state business awards.

In March she was named Australian Small Business Champion Entrepreneur of the Year.

Mrs Young said none of it would have been possible without the incredible work that Mrs Papac and Mrs Del Turco did in promoting women in business in the Illawarra.