Fèis Rois brings Association of Scottish Businesswomen Award back to the Highlands
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A Highland organisation which nurtures young musical talent and a young business leader who impressed the judges with her own potential have brought north two of the trophies from this year's Association of Scottish Businesswomen (ASB) Awards.
Hannah Lloyd, marketing manager and Inverness lead with GLM Architects and Building Surveyors, was named ASB's "one to watch" in the award recognising rising stars of the business world, while youth music and traditional arts organisation Fèis Rois was named most enterprising business.
Also among the dozen winners at the awards, which were held online but with in-person regional gatherings in Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Moray and Perth, was Moray Business Women, which was named best affiliate group of the year.
Hannah Lloyd, who is also on the board of Highland Business Women (HBW), said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won the one to watch award – taking the time to recognise my own achievements is not something I do often enough and the confidence boost from doing so should not be underestimated.
"A huge thank you to all who have supported and encouraged me to take the opportunities presented – while the award is in my name, the achievements are a team effort and I couldn’t have done it without you all.”
In their citation, the judging panel described her as "a highly respected and delightful person with great initiative" who pushes herself out of her comfort zone to develop herself and support others in her team, business and community, especially over the last 18 months.
"She excels in everything she puts her mind to and is definitely one to watch," the judges concluded.
"We can't wait to see what she does next."
The Fèis Rois award for most enterprising business comes just a few weeks after the charity also received the best third sector trophy in HBW's own awards.
Chief executive Fiona Dalgetty took to social media to thank the judges for the Dingwall-based organisation's latest accolade.
"Delighted that, after an extraordinarily challenging 19 months, and perhaps particularly so for those of us working in live music and the arts, that Fèis Rois won a national business award today recognising all that we have done to adapt our work in these tricky times," she wrote.
Gaelic singing star Julie Fowlis was among the many who used social media to pass on their congratulations, commenting: "Super proud of Fiona Dalgetty and the entire Fèis Rois team for all the amazing work they do!"
ASB president Lyndsey Greer Phillips congratulated all the winners and finalists on their achievements in the face of the challenges of the last 19 months.
“The Association of Scottish Businesswomen is so incredibly proud to play an integral role in shining a spotlight on the many successful and inspiring women in our business communities by facilitating the awards, and giving the opportunity to praise and reward the most talented women for their achievements in business and in the community, recognising their hard work and dedication," she said.
“The quantity and standard of entries increases year on year making it extremely difficult for our panel of 17 independent judges to decide on the winners. The awards give us a fantastic opportunity to showcase the very best businesswomen in Scotland.”
