Honouring a 5-yearly tradition
We renewed a great tradition last weekend. Every 5 years for many years past Harbour Shipping has celebrated our continuing successful operations with a formal dinner at a 5-star hotel. Last weekend was the latest quinquennial, where colleagues at every level were invited to eat, drink and celebrate together in the historic splendour of The Grove Hotel nestling in the Hertfordshire countryside.
Hundreds of people attended: colleagues from every company in the Star Cargo group, plus partners and spouses. Of course some colleagues couldn’t attend. For example Harbour Shipping operates 24-hours per day with two shifts working last weekend. Nevertheless everyone who could arrange a swap shift was able to come.
The Anniversary Dinner
The dress code for the dinner was strictly formal with black tie tuxedos for the men and gowns for the ladies. People went to a great deal of effort and there was much planning and conversation ahead of the event. The elegant results showed on the garden terrace in the afternoon as we gathered for a champagne reception and photographs. Then we took our seats in the main function room.
Our chairman, senior directors and managers made a series of speeches chronicling the changes since the last anniversary dinner in 2018. There was much praise for the men and women who have led the group companies through some big changes, with Brexit and the pandemic. There were also prizes awarded for the afternoon events, such as the volleyball won by Harbour Shipping’s team.
Conversation flowed over the dinner and dessert courses. As these were cleared away the first band began to play and the dancefloor filled up and remained full of happy dancers until the end.
Thanks to All
An event like this is a triumph of organisation with many people working hard behind the scenes to create an unforgettable series of events. There are caterers, chefs and waiting staff, musicians and singers, the hotel staff, restaurant staff and many more. From our side, big thanks are due to Deborah Wild at Star Cargo for organising the whole day, and it went off flawlessly. Thanks to all concerned.
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Read more about The Grove Hotel https://www.thegrove.co.uk/