Smiths Hire celebrate at annual Christmas Awards Party 2024

Well, it ’tis the season to be jolly and jolly we were at our annual Christmas Awards Party 2024! 

It was great to once again gather our colleagues across our growing 18 location network – from Castleford to Cleveleys, it was great to meet up with familiar faces and be introduced to new faces too. It’s always humbling to see just how much the company is growing and seeing the majority of them at our Christmas party night is a sight to behold. 

From left to right: Joint MD David Smith and his wife, Mandy with Joint MD Thomas Smith and his wife, Helen.

Managing Directors, Thomas and David Smith with the Whitegate depot team.

Sales & Marketing Director -David Turner (left) with HR Manager, Nicci, Training Admin – Jackie, HR Admin – Sarah, Marketing Manager – Leigh Walker, Sales Manager – Ethan Strudwick.

Some of our Blackburn and Burnley depot teams.

Some of Training and Accounts departments ladies bringing the Christmas glam.

The event yet again was a massive success and everyone that attended had a great time. We hosted our 2024 event at the home of Blackpool FC (much to the dismay of our Preston depot!) and The Matthews Suite looked amazing – the team headed up by Jamie-Leigh Matheson pulled out all the stops for us to make the room look festive and welcoming. 

The Smithys Awards 2024

We pride ourselves on having some of the best staff in the Hire business and we would love to be able to give everyone an award – there was so much talent to choose out of! But our judges made their decision and the winners were presented with their awards on the night.

This year our Awards ceremony was hosted by magician and personality, Russ Brown who kicked the Awards off with his unique magic skills assisted by our Sales & Marketing Director, David Turner.

A big Congratulations to the follow individuals and teams…

Above & Beyond Master -Paul Hill, Workshop Engineer, Whitegate depot

Salesperson of the Year – Craig Jeffels, Area Sales Manager, Yorkshire

Special commendation to our Long Service Award Winners  – John Rance, St Annes and Peter Gibbard, Bolton celebrating 15 years’ service, who were unable to attend the event. And a special recognition goes to our Operations Director, Dave Sudell who celebrated 30 years’ service in December 2024 – what an amazing achievement. 

Workshop Engineer of the Year -Ryan Smith, Whitegate depot

Driver of the Year – Daniel Reimer, Preston

Hire Controller of the Year – Ross Cargill, Burnley

Deputy Manager of the Year – Matt McLaughlin, Lancaster

Depot Manager of the Year – James Vosper, Trafford

We couldn’t operate effectively without the often-unsung heroes who are the cogs of the company. The teams that support the business, making a difference in the background providing excellence in their individual departments and upholding the company values – 

Business Support Team of the Year winner – Finance department

Business Support Team of the Year highly commended – Training &  Marketing teams

Now, last but not least – the ultimate accolade in the Hire business….Depot of the Year 2024!

This award recognises the collective efforts of an outstanding group of individuals in a depot. The winning depot has achieved something quite incredible in 2024, because of a joint effort from the depot team and sales. Daily they demonstrate how to win orders and supply great customer service. A well-deserved win!

Depot of the Year winner – Lancaster depot

Depot of the Year highly commended – Burnley, St Annes and Southport depots

And no event is complete without some dancing…

Plus casino tables and photo booth antics…

We must say a big thank you to the Jamie-Leigh and all of the team at the venue – The Matthews Suite, Blackpool Football Club, who couldn’t have done anymore to accommodate us and make sure the evening ran smoothly. Thanks also to Steve & the team at Red Box Studios , who managed to capture the event in photographs for us; to Russ Brown for his crazy magic and Awards hosting 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 2025!