An ardent search to find the south’s top secretary reached its climax on Friday 20th July 2001 at the beautiful Chewton Glen Hotel, New Milton.
Nine finalists anxiously waited to discover which of them carried off the coveted awards.
BBC South television presenter Sally Taylor revealed the winner of the 2001 accolade at the gala presentation ceremony.
Three ‘Regional’ Secretaries of the Year each won £1,000 together with additional prizes such as a ‘Pampering Day’ at the Chewton Glen, Dinner, Bed and Breakfast at the De Vere Grand Harbour in Southampton, tickets to see Saturday Night Fever at the Mayflower Theatre and lunch for two at the Hotel Du Vin in Winchester.
The winners were; Southern Region; Nancy Furlonger from Skandia Life, Western Region; Jacqueline Buckingham from Deric Scott, Northern Region; Marjolein Mussellwhite.
The Secretary of the Year 2001 (the most prestigious award) completed the afternoon and was won by Marjolein Mussellwhite. With this award came another £1,000 plus a Ferrari Thrill Experience!
We at Barker Personnel have been very impressed with the quality of candidates, each finalist was put through a set of tests before they were faced with a grueling interview process with six judges. It was a very close call indeed!
The judges were Martin Ball, Wave 105.2fm; Nadine Bateman, Woman’s Editor, Southern Daily Echo; Bill Browne, Basingstoke Gazette; Neil Butterworth, Bournemouth Echo; Joy Vooght, Skandia Life and Lorraine Reeve, Barker Personnel.
A separate competition for best keyboard skills carried a prize of £500, this was won by Julie Pascoe of John Siddall Financial Services in Fareham, Julie’s typing skills exceeded 100wpm!
We will once again be in search of the best ‘Secretaries’ in the Region next year!
The nine finalists with competition organizer Karen Barker
