What
Wales Transport Awards 2019
Who
250 people from the Welsh transport community
Where
Mercure Cardiff Holland House Hotel
Organisers
Grapevine Event Management
Why
To recognise the breadth and depth of talent that exists across the Welsh transport community.
Photography by - Matthew Horwood Photography
Background
The Wales transport sector is the backbone of the Welsh economy directly employing more than 40,000 people and supporting thousands more through the wider supply chain. Founded by Liz Brookes of Grapevine Event Management, 2019 was the inaugural year of the Wales Transport Awards.
These awards were established after spotting a gap in awards industry for Welsh Transport companies to be recognised for the crucial work that they do to keep business moving in Wales.
Objective
To provide a platform to give recognition to the Welsh transport community via a black-tie event with a three-course dinner and an awards presentation at the Mercure Cardiff Holland House Hotel.
Before the Awards
As 2019 was the first year of the awards, there was a lot to be done in order to establish a brand that the general public would engage with. Forming a good online presence is one of the major ways to spread the word about events, so ensuring we utilised everything from social media to the website and any press releases, was essential.
To add to the credibility of an awards such as these, it is also very important to gain the support of relevant companies and organisations through sponsorship. The team at Grapevine have vast experience of selling sponsorship opportunities and work hard to create good relationships with these companies, which ultimately lead to lasting partnerships.
Once we built up a following through the necessary online platforms and gained the support from the likes of the Caldicot Group, Glenside Commercials and Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, the inaugural awards received an outstanding number of applications which resulted in 28 transport companies from every corner of Wales ending up in the final shortlist.
Once this shortlist was decided, interviews needed to be arranged in order to choose this year’s winners. All interviews were conducted over the space of 3 days by a panel of judges, comprising of; Denise Lovering – Glenside Commercials & Head Judge, Gavin Edwards – Caldicot Group, Scott Waddington – Chair of Transport for Wales, Dr Andrew Potter – CILT, Sally Gilson – FTA, Liz Brookes – Grapevine Event Management and our sponsoring companies.
Alongside this, Grapevine managed all the ticket bookings for the evening. Certificates and trophies were being produced and the event visuals such as the programme book, table plan and award presentation were also being created.
On the Night
The format of the night was a drinks reception on arrival, followed by a three-course meal and the awards presentation. Frances Donovan of the BBC hosted the event. Grapevine has worked closely with Frances over the years and knew that she would be great to keep the night to schedule.
The ceremony itself took just over an hour and comprised of 11 awards, with the likes of Owens Group winning Transport Operator of the Year and PTI Cymru winning the Services to the Transport Industry Award.
As these awards are one of the only gatherings in Wales that brings together men and women involved with transport here in Wales, the evening ended on a high with the majority of guests staying until the early hours of the morning networking.
Result
A successful award ceremony with over 250 people in attendance celebrating the hard work they do within the industry.
Post awards, there has been media coverage in Business News Wales, Wales 247 and the South Wales Argus.
An incredible £1100 was also raised on the night for the chosen charity of the year, Wales Air Ambulance.
The Future
It will be interesting to see where the finalists and winners of the 2019 Wales Transport Awards are in the next 12 months. As for the awards themselves, there are already discussions in place for next year’s ceremony and interest in sponsorship, so watch this space!
Feedback from Attendees
“The awards ceremony was well hosted and delivered a great sense of appreciation for all sectors of transport. The venue was excellent, and the flow of the evening went very well.” – Richard Pridding, Operations Director at Edge Transport
“The whole team commented during the event and after the event how professional yet personal the awards night felt. It was a great combination which resulted in all of Team Owens thoroughly enjoying the evening.” – Doug Jeffery, Business Relationship Manager at Owens Group
“It was a fantastic evening, really well organised and full of good people.” – Nathan Griffiths-Williams, Head of Marketing at Edwards Coaches
If you feel your business sector needs an awards ceremony, contact us today to find out more on how we can turn your ideas into a reality.
