Award winners thrilled to be recognized for HR successes
It was quite a night. After two years of virtual celebrations, the Canadian HR Awards came back with a vengeance on Sept. 15.
Hundreds of HR professionals gathered together at the Liberty Grand in Toronto to not only celebrate a successful year, but to give a big hand to those who won in their respective categories.
Read more: Winners of Canadian HR Awards 2022 revealed
In its ninth year, the annual event gave out 22 well-deserved awards to excited winners.
And I mean excited – my job that evening was to grab a few quotes from the winners after each award was given out. This meant they had to come down off the stage, make their way across the dining room floor and up the stairs to greet the Key Media team, waiting with cameras, video cameras and microphones to further capture the moment.
Not that they were complaining – every one of the winners was glowing with pride, and breathless from the excitement (OK, some from the stairs).
It was a great reminder id how important this kind of celebration can be. This isn’t just about seeing your name on a list or enjoying two minutes on stage – these are people who have been working really hard to make their organization a better place.
And to be recognized for those efforts, with some amazing competition, is clearly rewarding.
Read more: Back in person, HR Awards celebrate excellence in human resources
Modestly, many of the winners spoke about the importance of their teams and clearly demonstrated the commitment and passion they brought to both their job and the HR profession.
But most importantly, attendees were thrilled to be back among their colleagues, in person. While we managed to run an impressive awards event these past two years, there’s nothing like an on-site event where people can really connect – and show off the latest fashion trends.
“You can just feel the energy here tonight. I mean, the amount of screaming and yelling is because people are just so thrilled to be together again. And it makes it so much more special, frankly, to win an award tonight in this environment. So what a special time, it just feels really good to be together again,” said Brigid Pelino, senior vice president and chief people and culture officer at Definity Financial, who received the HRPA Award for Woman of Distinction.
Of course, we’re already planning the 2023 event, which promises to be bigger and better thanks to sold-out numbers this year. Hope to see you there!
