The winners of the fourth annual cHeRries awards, which recognise outstanding human resources (HR), recruitment and training achievements in the north-east, were declared last night.

The honours were presented at a ceremony in the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, attended by almost 500 of the region’s leading business professionals.

The cHeRries are organised by Aberdeen-based event management company, cushydoos, with Aberdeen Business School at The Robert Gordon University as title sponsor and Kudos – Employee Benefits as supporting sponsor.

Each award was presented by a representative of the category sponsor. The winners were:

The cHeRries Blossoming Award – Yvonne Arnold, Dominion Gas; Category sponsor: Aberdeen Business School at RGU. She also receives full funding from RGU to study for her MSC in Human Resource Management.

Extraordinary Team Initiative – Renee Raper and Julie Skinner, Robert Gordon University. Category sponsor: Capita.

Fantastic HR Advisor – Gillian Slessor, EnerMech; Category sponsor: Wood Group.

Tremendous Training & Development – LTM Training Academy, Laing Traditional Masonry; Category sponsor: Aberdeen Appointments Agency.

Finders Keepers Recruitment & Retention – The Recruitment Team, Aberdeenshire Council; Category sponsor: CMS Cameron McKenna.

Excellent HR Manager (SME) – Jenny Murray, Spectrum HR Solutions; Category sponsor: activpayroll.

Excellent HR Manager (Over 250) – Leigh Stott, Wood Group PSN; Category sponsor: Stronachs LLP.

Outstanding HR Director – John Booth, VSA; Category sponsor: Kudos Financial Services.

The event was hosted by sports journalist and television presenter Alison Walker, with entertainment provided by the Perrier Award nominee and world’s first human cartoon double act; Big Howard, Little Howard.

Cushydoos director, Karen Reid, said: “Yet again, the cHeRries awards were fantastic and an amazing way to recognise organisations, teams and individuals who demonstrate the excellent work being carried out across the local HR community. We had some great finalists this year and all our winners should feel very proud.

“Now in our fourth year, I’m delighted that the wealth of talented and worthy nominees in the area just continues to grow. This year, demand for tickets at the dinner has never been higher; and selling out as soon as we did just shows we’re obviously not alone in our passion for recognising this exceptional industry.”

The next cHeRries Awards, which have already attracted interest in nominations, will be launched in November, with the awards dinner taking place on Thursday, 7 June 2012.

Tags: cHeRries awards