Shine Awards 2017 winners revealed

Hospitality Action's Penny Moore, former Apprentice candidate Ruth Badger and Purple Cubed's Jane Sunley were among the winners at tonight's Shine Awards 2017.

They were was recognised at a ceremony held at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London attended by over 200 industry leaders.

Moore was handed the Robyn Jones Lifetime Achievement Award for her work leading and growing Hospitality Action for the past 13 years, helping countless individuals in the hospitality who have fallen on hard times, suffered illness or bereavement.

The Woman of the Year accolade went to Apprentice runner-up Ruth Badger, who gained the title for her work growing Argyll Holidays, while Jane Sunley was named Ambassador of the Year for her passion in striving for gender diversity within her organisation and the industry as a whole.

The awards, organised by People 1st, The Caterer and Travel Weekly and sponsored by Compass Group, celebrate the achievements of women working in hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism, as well as the mentors, ambassadors and businesses that are actively working to improve gender balance at senior levels.

Presenting Moore with her award, People 1st chief executive Simon Tarr said: "When she began her role, the charity our winner represents helped 514 beneficiaries a year, it now supports over 2000 former hospitality workers financially and a further 100,000 through its employee assistance programme.

"She has been instrumental in increasing its fundraising and services to make it relevant to today’s industry and to help more people in times of need.

"Now that she is stepping down, it is absolutely the right time to celebrate all that she has done for so many current and former hospitality employees."

The Caterer editor Amanda Afiya described Ambassador Award winner Jane Sunley as a "real people person".

She added: "A strong advocate in the power of mentoring, she realised that by giving a relatively small amount of time she could not only help others, but also help the industry to develop and retain more confident, successful and capable women.

"Having successfully managed her own career and home life, she’s a great support when women start families and juggling the demands of both."

Simon Tarr, chief executive of People 1st, said of the awards: “This is the sixth Shine Awards we have hosted under the People 1st banner, but with the current challenges facing our industries â€" factors like rising costs, changing employee attitudes and the uncertainty around Brexit â€" their message is possibly more important today than it’s ever been.

“We need to be making the most of all the talent available to us, and retaining women, and enabling them to progress, is essential to the growth of our industries."

The Caterer publisher Mark Lewis added: “Awards like this offer a chance to say well done to the industry’s highest-performing people and, crucially, hold up examples of best practice that we can all learn from. It’s encouraging to see so many individual success stories, and companies embracing a forward-thinking approach towards the development of female talent. Congratulations to all our winners!”

The 2017 Shine Awards winners

Apprentice of the Year
Winner: Sarah Nerys-Judge â€" Hyatt Regency London, the Churchill and Umbrella Training
Highly commended: Luka Seddon, CH&CO Group and University of West London

Best Initiative to Retain and Develop Women
Winner: Compass Group
Highly commended: Thomas Cook

Best Place for Women to Work
Winner: Expedia
Highly commended: Georgian House Hotel

Chef of the Year
Winner: Chantelle Nicholson, Tredwells

Innovator of the Year
Winner: Gail Bunn â€" Brewhouse & Kitchen
Highly commended: Alex Head, Social Pantry

Mentor of the Year
Winner: Fay Sharpe â€" Zibrant, BCD M&E

Rising Star
Winner: Sophie Egglestone â€" Yorebridge House
Highly commended: Tania Rahman, Chit Chaat Chai

Ambassador Award
Jane Sunley, Purple Cubed

The Robyn Jones Lifetime Achievement Award
Winner: Penny Moore â€" Hospitality Action

Woman of the Year
Winner: Ruth Badger â€" Argyll Holidays

Penny Moore to step down as chief executive of Hospitality Action >>

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