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We had the pleasure of hosting our first company-wide Christmas party last weekend, it was no mean feat getting all our teammates from our 17 locations together in one venue… but we did it! And boy, did we do it in style, we had a fabulous night indeed!
The event was a roaring success and everyone had an amazing time, most people saying that putting faces to the names of those colleagues that we speak to every day but had never met being one of the (many) high points of the evening!
We pulled out all the stops for our colleagues, to say thank you for their hard work and loyalty throughout 2023 – red carpet VIP arrival, close-up magicians, fabulous festive food and decoration, drinks and then more drinks as well as our ‘Smithys’ Awards.
Our Head Office & National Hires Customer Service team with Jason McDonough (Southport Depot Manager) and Directors, Richard Edwards and David Turner.
HR and Marketing team with Directors, Richard Edwards, Dave Sudell and David Turner accompanied by magician, Russ Brown.
The Training and Pricing teams.
Some of the team members from our Manchester depot with Keith Houghton (Manchester Depot Manager).
The Smithys Award Winners
If we could have it our way then all of our employees would win an award as we have such a pool of talent to choose from. We think all of our colleagues are great, but as with any awards ceremony someone has to win over the rest and it was by no means an easy decision for our judges.
Smiths Hire joint MD, Thomas Smith presenting the Awards.
But following some major deliberation the winners and runner ups were selected, all of whom were very worthy and there were some great reasons behind the decisions –
Depot of the Year winner – Whitegate depot.
Depot of the Year highly commended – Blackburn, Burnley and St Annes depots. 
Business Support Team of the Year winner – HR & Recruitment
Business Support Team of the Year highly commended – Finance & Buying team & the Marketing team
Depot Manager of the Year – Keith Houghton, Manchester depot.
Above & Beyond Master – Terry Sandham, HGV driver – Preston.
Peoples’ Choice Award – Stephen Bettridge, Depot Manager – Blackburn.
Special commendation to our Long Service Award Winners too, photographed above. Featuring staff members who have amassed a grand total of 252 years of service to Smiths Hire between them! Congratulations and thank you all!
We finished a successful evening off by dancing into the early hours…
We must say a big thank you to the Claire and all of the team at the venue – The Village Hotel, Blackpool, who couldn’t have done anymore to accommodate us and make sure the evening ran smoothly. Thanks also to Steve & Will at Red Box Studios , who managed to capture the event in photographs for us; to Russ Brown and Craig for their out of this world magic skills and also to Anna and her team from It’s My Party for the venue décor.
We can’t wait to do it all again in 2024!
