And the Winner is...

There was a particular buzz at Ramside Hall Hotel on Friday, 1st June, when crowds gathered from local businesses around the region to celebrate The North East Employee of the Year Awards 2018. A ceremony in it's third term which shows no signs of slowing down as it represents a hopeful premise that businesses and organisations in our region take great consideration in recognising the hard work and determination relentlessly displayed among the employees of the North East.

'For the people who make a difference to your business' - it's not just a catchy tagline but a message, a statement, that those hardworking employees who are the face of a business determine it's fundamental success. Which is why it was such an incredible pleasure to see so many people involved in the awards this year. An assurance that these awards are important and are very much worth shouting about.

It was a nice treat for the 2018 winners to be presented their award by the majority of the winners from the previous year. It was almost symbolic, much like passing the baton of success as they entered into the Employee Awards alumni. A great honour and one that will resonate throughout their professional careers, and rightly so.

So, without further ado, we present to you the winners of The North East Employee of the Year Awards 2018.

BEST APPRENTICE

Faye Robinson, Hays Travel

LEADERSHIP

Joanne Vinton-Bullwinkel, Firstsource Solutions Limited

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMMUNITY

Debbie Howe, Hays Travel

OUTSTANDING SERVICE

Gary Irving, Tesco Underwriting

TEAM OF THE YEAR

The Mental Health Team, Tesco Underwriting

UNSUNG HERO

Rachael Connor, Parkdean Resorts

YOUNG EMPLOYEE

Tabitha Woodhouse, Sage UK Ltd

And the overall winner crowned

THE NORTH EAST EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR 2018

Joanne Vinton-Bullwinkel, Firstsource Solutions Limited

A huge congratulations to all of our winners but, also, to the runners up who triumphed over hundreds of applications to be shortlisted to the final round.

Alexandra Turner-Davis, Hays Travel // Erin Robinson, Parkdean Resorts // Michelle Harle, The Royal Station Hotel // Louise Stephenson, Precision Printing Ltd // Lottie Haylock, Malhotra Group PLC // Steve FletcherTesco Underwriting // The Whole Team, Marmax Products // Nikki Butt, Resource Management Solutions NE Ltd // Nigel Spurr, BMC Recruitment Group // Mark Taylor, Where The Trade Buys // Hays Travel, Jarrow Branch, Hays Travel // The Strategic Leadership TeamPara-Sols // Housekeeping Team, The New Northumbria Hotel // Caroline Hey, Sage UK Ltd // Kelly Greener, Tesco Underwriting // Jonathon Wright, Sage (UK) Limited // Natalie Homan, Firstsource Solutions Limited // Stephen Manchester, Durham Hens Limited // Bianca Rogers, Reviving the Heart of the West End Ltd

A special thank you to our host, BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Anna Foster for yet another fantastic performance, our house band House of Sax and our generous supporters; Ramside Hall Hotel, Hays Travel, Precision Printing Ltd, Marmax Products and Reviving the Heart of the West End for donating some fantastic prizes to our raffle in aid of Cancer Research.

A humongous amount of love and thanks to our long time collaborators Tesco Underwriting for their continued support. Without you, none of this would have been possible so, from all the employees across the region, we thank you!

We're going to take a little break but stay tuned on Facebook and Twitter for updates on The North East Employee of the Year 2019!!

See ya' next year!

The NEEA Team