Island Hotels Group recognizes employees’ efforts at annual PEARL Awards Ceremony

In its 5^th year, the Pearl Awards is a much-anticipated event within the Group and this year, being the 25th anniversary of the group, was no exception.

Martin Hignett, Andrew Mangion and Julian J. Mamo, Ira Losco and Stefan Farrugia hosted the Gala evening.

Launched in 2008, the Pearl Awards were created to recognise members within the Island Hotels Group team who have excelled in specific areas at work as well as within the wider community.

Pearl was created from the desire to maintain and foster traditional values, born from Island Hotels Group's original roots as a family firm. PEARL is an acronym derived from the first 5 letters of 5 words that encompass the company's values and beliefs, namely; Passion, Excellence, Attitude, Reliability and Loyalty. With the Group's staff complement now exceeding 1,000 people the Pearl Awards ensure that individual contributions and successes are recognised, appreciated and rewarded.

This year, 43 team members were nominated, out of which 10 overall winners were selected and awarded by a panel of external judges.

The overall winners of the Island Hotels Group Pearl Awards this year were Christine Camilleri for the Best Smile, Christopher Matthews for Friendliness, Stephen Camilleri for Outstanding Performance, Fabian Zammit for Precision, John Grima for Responsible Business, Omar Schembri for Creativity and Innovation, Keith Seguna for the Newcomer Award, Mary Ellul for The Louis Naudi Award, Bernice Sant for the Sales Plus Award and The Flavours Team composed of Alan Mercieca, Josette Bugeja, Michelle Zerafa, Raymond Micallef for the Team Award.

Winston J. Zahra, CEO of the Group, commented that, "The Pearl Awards are at the

forefront of the group's human resources ethos. The success of these awards and the effect that they have on motivating our great team has been fantastic to see. The awards recognize those people who truly reflect our corporate outlook as a business while nurturing the family values on which the company has been built. The awards give tangible meaning to Island Hotels Group's credo of 'Genuine People, Genuine Passion, Genuine Prospects and Genuine Progress'."