Yorkshire has once again heralded resounding success as teams and individuals were recognised for their dedication to supporting business leaders across the region during the big reveal of 14 categories announced at the Yorkshire PA Awards ceremony, held at The Pavilion, Leeds United Football Ground.
The awards, sponsored by Lucy Walker Recruitement, saw Claire Barrett, EA at Deloitte LLP take home the title of ‘Yorkshire PA of the Year’, which recognised Claire for her precision and instrumental position supporting the company directors. Kerry Dawson, PA at Leeds Beckett University took the runner-up position in the category and also swooped Best Social Media PA.
Claire was highly commended by this year’s judging panel, which consisted of a high-profile team – Donna Coulling, Celebrity Assistant to BAFTA Award winners Sir Derek Jacobi and Helena Bonham Carter; Lucy Brazier, one of the world’s leading authorities on the administrative profession, who has presented and chaired in more than 45 countries at over 400 events; and last years’ ‘Yorkshire PA of the Year’ winner and EA to the MD at Bettys & Taylors Group, Melanie Richardson.
Commenting on Claire Barrett’s nomination, the judges said: “Claire is a perfect role model for the PA profession and stands out from the crowd. She is inspirational and continuingly educating herself to improve within her chosen career. Claire is an all-rounder with excellent testimonials from both management and peers alike and showed the judges great passion for her career. Claire champions the role, is inspirational to others and is a real asset to her business.”
PA at Leeds Beckett University Gill Walker was awarded PA Lifetime Achievement award, and the judges said: “Gill is extraordinary but thinks she is ordinary! Gill does not seem to realise the impact she has on others and is clearly one of the influential people in her business. Gill’s knowledge was impressive and the way she uses this to help other assistants and to benefit her team is remarkable. She takes her mentoring role very seriously to help other PAs improve themselves.”
Other headline category wins included Jill Ambrazaitis, PA at Grant Thornton, who received the award for PA Contribution to the Community; Rachel McPartlin, KPMG LLP won Best Organised Event Award; Direct Line’s Paul Bone & Mark Lennon took home Best Boss; and University of Huddersfield picked up ‘Employer of the Year’.
Marion Lowrence, Director at The PA Hub, organiser of the awards, commented: “Each year the caliber of entries becomes tougher for our judges to select the winners. We are now in our third year, which has attracted more than 140 entries this year from across the Yorkshire region. We are truly overwhelmed to see the impact the awards are having on the PA community.
“Yorkshire business has experienced a high level of growth, particularly with the recent retail and leisure developments across Leeds. We are so proud to be a part of the growth and support the assistants who drive Yorkshire businesses forward.”
For full details on the winners from the evening and to find out more about The PA Hub, please visit thepahub.co.uk.
