At a glittering ceremony in the Villa Marina last night (Thursday), Isle of Man Post Office won the Freedom to Flourish award for its organising and hosting of an inaugural postal initiative bringing small and island posts together from around the world at the 2013 Awards for Excellence.
Commenting on the award Mike Kelly, Chief Executive of Isle of Man Post Office said: "We are absolutely delighted to have won. This award is in recognition of our organising and hosting of the inaugural Small Posts and Islands Postal Forum in May. The event attracted 35 delegates representing postal administrations from around the world including Barbados, Greenland, Seychelles, Falkland Islands, Iceland and the Channel Islands to name just a few. The event brought together for the first time small posts to exchange ideas and best practice, explore current and future trends, address common issues and identify new areas for collaboration."
He added: "We provided a warm Manx welcome to the delegates and the Forum was not only an opportunity to showcase Isle of Man Post Office, but the wonderful Isle of Man. It was an overwhelming success and we feel this was evidenced from the inspiration we had given two posts in particular, Gibraltar and Seychelles, who both expressed an interest in holding a future forum. Indeed the event is now set to become an annual event on the postal industry calendar and Gibraltar Post will host the 2014 Forum next June."
This is the second time Isle of Man Post Office has won an Awards for Excellence title, having won the highly coveted International Business of the Year award last year.
Mike said: "We have won two awards in successive years but both for very different reasons which is absolutely fantastic. Last year's was in recognition of our growth as a business, operating internationally having built up a portfolio of clients not only on the Island, but in the UK and globally and this year for an initiative that brought together postal administrations from around the world to discuss key issues in our industry.
He added: "It continues to be a very challenging time for the postal industry but an exciting time for the business as our corporate status is currently debated. Isle of Man Post Office is split into two clear areas – it is committed to delivering and maintaining a high standard of service to the Island's community, as well as being commercially driven with a strong focus to attract business, particularly from off-Island, to help sustain the future success and longevity of the Post Office."
Hosted by Isle of Man Newspapers, the Awards for Excellence is a celebration of the Island's success from the business sector, the local community to individuals such as young achiever of the year, volunteer of the year to the prestigious lifetime achievement award. Isle of Man Post Office would like to thank Isle of Man Newspapers, the sponsors and judges for their involvement in such a successful evening and for choosing Isle of Man Post Office as a 2013 winner.
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