Educational Awards Dinner

This year's ABFA Educational Foundation Awards Dinner was held on Thursday 5th March 2009 at The Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington. Our first year at a new venue saw 130 people from the invoice finance industry attend this black tie affair to recognise and celebrate the efforts of those professionals within the industry who have applied themselves to further their qualifications and careers. It was rewarding to see so many members applauding the achievements of their most deserving staff.

The evening began at 7.15 with a glass of champagne at the Welcome Reception. Maurice Craft, Chairman of the Governors of the Educational Foundation and Managing Director of Regency Factors, welcomed everyone to the event and held the attention of the guests as he reminded us of extensive work of the Educational Foundation and the importance of training and education in the current economic climate.

Following dinner Will Greenwood, MBE, took the stage to present the awards. Will, widely regarded as one of England's greatest ever rugby players, hosted the award ceremony with humour, humility and great style. Indeed it was the first awards ceremony we had ever had where sponsors acknowledged our host's achievements before reading out the winner of the award. The awards ceremony consisted of 8 publicised awards generously sponsored by organisations who continue to contribute greatly to the success of the ABFA's Educational Foundation and one surprise award, not listed in the evenings programme. Congratulations to all of the award winners, who are listed below.

After the awards ceremony Will continued to inspire and amuse the audience during an after-dinner speech consisting of tales from his outstanding rugby career. Throughout the proceedings Will was relaxed and professional and his presentation skills contributed greatly to everyone's enjoyment of the night. Finally, it was time to get everyone up and moving on the dancefloor. As always with this event, the celebrations went on well into the night!

A wonderful evening was had by all and many congratulations to all those students nominated and to all the winners below!

To see more photos of this great night - click here.