THE WIRRAL LIFE AWARDS 2018 -
SPONSORS WORDS
Westminster Associates would like to take a moment to reflect
on what everyone at Wirral Life magazine, with the support of
the Hillbark Hotel, achieved at the inaugural Wirral Life Awards.
Not only did they pull off a near-seamless event for almost
600 people, one of the largest such events the Wirral has ever
seen, they also created a celebration of the Wirral itself. Special
congratulations go to Si Hall and Nicky Rigby-Smith at Wirral Life
magazine for turning their vision of an intimate celebration into
reality - the size, scope and success of which surprised even them.
We do actually believe they really did create a little 'peninsula-envy'
that evening, but all for a good cause and in the kindest sense of the
word!
There's always been a sense of pride on the Wirral, pride in who
people are and what the Wirral means to them. Si and Nicky
created an event which gave this pride a forum. It made it tangible.
Distilled it down to its essence. And we all felt it on the night and
for days afterwards. What happened that evening will grow and
spread as people meet and discover the nominees and winners.
We’ve already started to pop in and say hello to them, to put faces
to names, and to congratulate them in person. There are some truly
amazing people and things on the Wirral, and we’d encourage you
to check them out.
But there was something greater at work that evening beyond the
sense of pride. There was a sense of belonging and inclusion. The
evening brought people together in every sense of the word.
At a time when so many people in this world are building walls,
creating laws that discriminate, and treating other human beings
as less than equal, it's easy to focus on the negative. The evening
brought together people from ages 8 to 90 for six magical hours
and, regardless of their backgrounds, political views, vocation,
income, gender, sexual orientation or race we celebrated successes,
together. People smiled at one another, held doors open for others,
congratulated one another, and shared their stories. We held
our breath, smiled nervously, and laughed with one another and
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the staff at Hillbark, as what seemed like a never-ending river of
scrumptious profiteroles in dark chocolate sauce made its way from
the kitchen to our tables at dessert time. Elegant ladies stood back
and protected their white dresses as everyone around ensured the
'river' found its course with no mishaps!
It became very obvious to everyone that evening that what
connected us all was our values and the simple and often implicit
ways in which we live our lives and believe you should treat others.
Fear + ignorance = hate. It's a simple equation.
What we saw and experienced the evening of the awards was heart-
warming. From the wise older gentleman who started his journey
in a butcher’s shop and built an empire, to the young lady who
proved a role model to all of us when it comes to the environment
and who we made a princess for the evening. To those who are just
embarking on their journey or maybe even their second career and
who may have been told there was 'no need for them' by people in
their past. To all of you who had your Susan Boyle moment that
evening, remember, they’re not laughing now. Be very proud of
what you’ve achieved and grateful for everyone who supported you.
We were honoured to have been in the room. Thank you.
We are really looking forward to next year's awards! It’s going to be
huge! And in the meantime, and as we all go back about our daily
lives, be kind to one another, be the best version of you that you can
be, and help others do the same.
And remember this:
Your smile is your logo,
your personality is your business card,
and how you treat others is your trademark.
To find out more about Westminster Associates, visit:
www.westminster-associates.com.