Van and car rental firms were among those honoured for their achievements at the BVRLA’s Annual Dinner at the London Hilton last week.
Around 750 industry colleagues and guests attended the event, which saw BVRLA chairwoman Nina Bell open proceedings by taking to the stage to acknowledge the association’s successes during 2019 and outline its priorities for the year ahead.
“Your association has continued to focus on strengthening our industry’s reputation, ensuring that we have a loud voice with government policymakers, and we are using that voice to open more doors in the corridors of power than ever before.
“In 2020 we are focused on tackling the big issues facing our industry including; Clean Air Zones and the raft of emerging air quality measures, the future of mobility, data and digitalisation, a fairer motoring tax regime and not to be forgotten – doing business beyond Brexit.”
BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney introduced those being given special recognition for their achievements, announcing Peter Cakebread as the winner of the Freddie Aldous Outstanding Contribution Award; the second person to receive the coveted award, which was introduced last year in honour of the BVRLA’s honorary life president Freddie Aldous, who passed away in 2017.
Others to be recognised during the evening were Naomi Kerr and Emma Gilmour, both from Arnold Clark Car & Van Rental. The two were commended for achieving the joint highest scores amongst all those who successfully completed the BVRLA IMI Rental Operator Skills Award during 2019.
Rachael Dean of Alphabet and Jo Humphreys of Low Cost Vans were both awarded the BVRLA Industry Hero Award, recognising their performance and exceptional contribution in their respective fields and organisations.
Guests were also treated to entertainment from comedian and actor Omid Djalili and were able to try their hand at the after-dinner casino. Attendees also dug deep to generously donate more than £10,500 to the event’s chosen charity, BEN, which specialises in providing emotional and financial support to former and existing automotive industry employees.
