On Thursday 19^th June, the PAGE group hosted their annual conference, exhibition, and awards dinner at a new venue, the Walton Hall Hotel and Spa in Warwickshire – a spectacular venue featuring a period manor building which housed the event. Over 120 delegates showed up for the day.  The ladies looked beautifully glammed up, and the gentlemen supported a variety of fashions controlled primarily by the weather and the 30° heat.

 

During the tabletop exhibition in the afternoon, 50 suppliers took full advantage of the opportunity to network face-to-face with PAGE members. The exhibition ended at 5pm, giving delegates time to enjoy one of the hottest days of the year.

 

As guests were seated for dinner, magician Owen Strickland made his way around the tables, performing his unbelievable close-up magic tricks that both entertained and amazed his audience. He rounded off his performance by engaging with the whole room in a display of magic that left the whole room stunned.

 

Afterwards it was time for the awards – all the awards presented at the conference recognise an exemplar level of quality, service, and efficiency from both distributors and suppliers.

 

Scores for supplier service and efficiency are taken from the PAGE members’ annual surveys to determine the winners.  The winners of the silver awards were: Laltex, Bizz Badge and Tancia. The winner of the Gold Supplier of the Year Award was Preseli.

 

Likewise, suppliers have the opportunity to score PAGE members in their annual survey. The winners of the distributor’s silver awards were: Impress Ipswich, Get Yourself Noticed, & LSi – and the winners of the gold awards were: Boosters, Navillus, & Allwag.

 

This year there was a new category for the awards – UK Manufacturer of the Year.  Silver awards went to Adco and Umbrella Co, with the Gold award going to WCM&A.

Supplier Superstar of the Year – this award was given in recognition of a supplier contact who has helped PAGE members over and above what would normally be expected of them. This year the award went to Bizz Badge’s Yvonne Blackhurst.

 

After the awards were given out, guests were treated to an entertaining performance from comedian Roger Monkhouse, who’s observational humour brought some light hearted humour to the evening.

 

Networking continued in the main bar into the small hours.

 

The following morning, as per last year, 28 brave delegates took part in the GBH Golf Day at the Welcombe Golf course in memory of our fondly remembered friend and PAGE founder George Hayward. In its second year, the teams arrived slightly hungover, and some really hungover (Ben Lowes) after a heavy night at the PAGE Dinner.

After a keenly fought contest in 30° heat (without buggies!), in true Ryder Cup style, both teams ended up with 3 ½ points each – so a countback of all the teams scores was required with the Distributors taking the prize for the 2^nd year with a score of 352 to 339.

A great day enjoyed by all – all hungover and in sweltering heat!

The individual winners:

Individual Winner – Eden Merrylees (34 points)

Nearest the pin on 6^th Neil Pitcher

Nearest the pin on 14^th – Matt “Big Dawg” Dyll

Longest drive on the 16^th – Oliver Simpson

Published on: June 26th, 2025