Morpeth’s first business awards’ winners named

25 October 2016

The very first winners of ‘The Heart of Morpeth’ business awards were announced at a gala evening held last week at the town’s Riverside Lodge.

Seven category winners received their awards along with two special presentations made during the evening to Richard Rutherford and The Chocolate Gallery in Oldgate.

Mr Rutherford, fifth generation of his family to run Rutherfords department store which has served its customers in Morpeth for 170 years, was presented with a lifetime contribution award while The Chocolate Gallery won an award for the best-dressed window to welcome back Morpeth Town FC after the club won the FA V at Wembley in May.

The coveted Retailer of the Year Award was won by JoJo Maman Bebe - the mother and babywear shop which is based at Sanderson Arcade in Morpeth.

The awards’ ceremony was organised by partners Morpeth Town Team, Morpeth & District Chamber of Trade and Sanderson Arcade to celebrate and recognised excellence among the retail, service, professional and hospitality businesses based in centre of Northumberland’s premier market town.

The main sponsor of the evening was Cookswell Citroen from Pegswood while the individual awards were also sponsored by local businesses and organisations.

Jacky Beesley, who chairs Morpeth & District Chamber of Trade, commented: “It was a fantastic evening demonstrating exactly why Morpeth is such a great place to shop and visit.

“The competition was intense among the businesses which were put up for awards and the fact that we had nearly 1,000 votes cast by members of the public for our Retailer of the Year Award demonstrated that. We have some terrific businesses trading in Morpeth from sole traders to multi-nationals and there were some very
worthy winners on the night.”

Results were:-

Business Manager of the Year (sponsored by Inside Morpeth magazine and ThruYorDoor
leaflet deliveries) – Sarah Jane Kennedy-Robson (Morpeth Chantry TIC). Highly commended were – Laura Anderson (Hair & Beauty), Mary Lee (Crew Clothing) and Erin Goose (The Body Shop).

Young Achiever of the Year (Sponsored by WCRS) – Chelsea Johnson (Clarks Shoes).
Highly commended – Chelsea Burdis (The Body Shop) and Mitchael Dear (Morpeth Computers).

Customer Service Team of the Year (Sponsored by The Flagman) – Morpeth Chantry TIC. Highly commended - Cube Morpeth and Hobbs.

Independent Retailer of the Year (Sponsored by Global Radio North East) – The Morpeth Larder. Highly commended Café des Amis and Pepperment Café.
Customer Engagement/Project Award (Sponsored by Beach Design) – Dalls (Packhorse Yard). Highly commended - Morpeth Tandoori.

The Emily Wilding Davison Award (Sponsored by Geoffrey Davison and Emily Inspires!) –
Layla Welsh (French Grey Tales). Highly Commended – Sarah Taylor (Peppermint Café)
and Josie Donaldson (The Complementary Therapy Clinic).

Medi Parry, Centre Manager of Sanderson Arcade was also given a special Emily Wilding Davison Award at the event in recognition of her hard work in helping to organise the first Heart of Morpeth Awards.

Retailer of the Year (Sponsored by Taylor Wimpey) – JoJo Maman Bebe. 2nd Place –
Laura Anderson Hair & Beauty. 3rd Place – The Sewing Box. 4th Place – Hays Travel Morpeth. 5th Place – The Complementary Therapy Clinic.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ian Leech, Morpeth Town Team on 079 681 02547

For further information, contact:-

Public Relations Department, Dransfield Properties Ltd
Tel: 01226 360644
Email: admin@dransfield.co.uk