This year’s routeone Awards presentation evening is just six weeks away, and tickets are already over 90% sold out, which means a small number of seats remain available for sale.
It will be a glittering evening celebrating the stars of the industry, as co-hosts routeone Editor designate Tim Deakin and a well-known celebrity announce the winners of the prestigious 2018 Awards.
With the vast majority of tickets already snapped up it is important to remember that this will again be a sell-out event, so time is rapidly running out if you have yet to book your place – visit routeoneawards.com for details.
Now in its 14th year, the routeone Awards seek to reward excellence and best practice through a judging process that is both rigorous and fair.
With the strongest entries in the event’s 14-year history making decisions on the winners more difficult than ever, the routeone Awards judges deliberated long and hard over their two-day session last month.
Meeting at the Peterborough offices of routeone parent company Diversified Communications, the five-person panel of industry experts was faced with having to make the most crucial decision of all in each of the 16 categories – i.e. which of the shortlisted finalists is to be named the winner at the routeone Awards Gala Presentation evening on 31 October.
Last month’s meeting was the culmination of a process that started in March with the call for nominations. This was followed by detailed and compelling entry submissions before round three brought the judges together in June to determine the finalists in the all-too-important shortlisting process.
To be shortlisted is an accolade in itself, but it brings with it the challenge of providing the judges with further compelling information that helps them decide who deserves the accolade of best in the business.
The panel – former Volvo MD Steve Dewhurst, former Traffic Commissioner Chris Heaps, former Proudmutual Director Tony Kennan, former Stagecoach Commercial Director Peter Nash, and former Plaxton Sales Director Kevin Wood – have now made those decisions.
In the case of finalists for the people awards – Engineer of the Year, Manager of the Year and Rising Star – there were interviews, while the judges still reserve the right to defer confirmation of their decisions until they have completed any necessary site visits and verified information supplied.
That’s why the names of the winners won’t be made public until 31 October when a capacity audience assembles at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole for what is widely acclaimed as the most important evening in the industry calendar.
To see the shortlist, visit routeoneawards.com/awards-2018
