Highland businesswomen recognised at awards ceremony

Highland Business Women are celebrating after achieving national recognition in an annual awards ceremony.

A number of them either won or were highly commended at the Association of Scottish Businesswomen (ASB) Awards in Edinburgh.

Highland Business Women won the Best Affiliated Group 2019 category and the group has gone from strength to strength in recent years.

The award was introduced in 2015 recognises the contribution of an affiliated group to the overall success of businesswomen throughout Scotland.

It was revised this year to encourage every affiliated group to celebrate their achievements by demonstrating the values of linking, inspiring and supporting their members, committees and the entire affiliated network as well as recognising their contribution to the wider business community and the Scottish economy.

Along with Highland Business Women's own award a further three out of a total of nine awards made the journey north this week.

Cecilia Grigor Planit Scotland won the Most Enterprising Business award, Libby Bligh of the Libertie Project won the Best Practice in Diversity and Inclusion trophy, and Handpicked Lodges of Aviemore won Young Business of the Year.

Áine Uí Ghiollagáin of DeepMiner was highly commended in the Young Business of the Year category and Eileen MacDonald of Fairy Sleep Mother was also highly commended in the Most Innovative Start-up category.

Lyndsey Greer Phillips, ASB President, said: "I'm absolutely delighted to welcome such high calibre finalists to our awards dinner this year. I know the judges had a very difficult time deciding between all these amazing businesses and inspiring women.

"The Association of Scottish Businesswomen is so incredibly proud to play an integral role in shining a spotlight on the many successful and inspiring women in our business communities by facilitating the awards, and giving the opportunity to praise and reward the most talented women for their achievements in business and in the community, recognising their hard work and dedication.

"The quantity and standard of entries increases year on year making it extremely difficult for our panel of 14 independent judges to decide on the winners. The awards give us a fantastic opportunity to showcase the very best businesswomen in Scotland."

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