Among other things, the Board has been awarded for skilful company management and a successful initial public offering, which was a breakthrough in the Polish mining industry. In his thank-you speech, Jarosław Zagórowski, the President of JSW expressed his gratitude to the company’s employees and to Zygmunt Łukaszczyk, the Governor of the Silesia Province, for successful negotiations with the community held before the company went public. 

This year, the highest prizes went to José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, and to Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister. Jerzy Buzek, the President of the European Parliament, was awarded the special prize, i.e. the Eagle of the Silesian Piasts (Orzeł Piastów Śląskich). 

The Laurel’s Jury has been awarding Diamond, Crystal, Platinum and Golden Laurels of Skills and Competence for twenty years. The idea which lies at the root of this project is to promote entrepreneurship, that is, to promote the people and their companies which have achieved commercial success, and are also capable of sharing this success by actively participating in social initiatives on the local level, and supporting local projects. 

There were several hundred winners in the history of the award. They include such persons as Lech Wałęsa, Pope John Paul II, Javier Solana Madariaga, Jan Nowak Jeziorański, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Vaclav Havel, cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, prof. Władysław Bartoszewski, prof. Leszek Balcerowicz, Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Zanussi and Bogdan Borusewicz.

During the awards ceremony, Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa attracted a lot of attention, particularly... among ladies. This was attributable to Rob Bonje, the top volleyball player of the Jastrzębski Węgiel team, sponsored by JSW, and Sebastian Jańcza, the rescuer of the Budryk mine, from whom all the ladies received orange roses symbolising the company. The invited guests also had an opportunity to view an exhibition entitled “All the best play for one team”, which was devoted to miners and volleyball players.

"We wished to present our company from a slightly different perspective. We are an example of how to effectively juggle business with sport and exchange each other’s images in order to eventually achieve one’s business objectives," says Jarosław Zagórowski, the President of JSW. "What comes true in our case is the phrase: ALL THE BEST PLAY FOR ONE TEAM."