Almost 400 people were at the Red Deer Lodge Hotel and Conference Centre Sept. 29 for the 2010 Red Hat Awards.

The Red Hat Awards honour customer service and community involvement in the hospitality and tourism industry.

“It was an exciting night. All the finalists and nominees should be very proud of themselves and congratulations to those who won a prestigious Red Hat Award,” said Erin Gobolos, chair of the Tourism Red Deer Board of Directors.

“The Red Hat Awards serve as a reminder of how important excellent customer service is to our community. By providing outstanding service these individuals promote their place of business and are ambassadors for our community encouraging tourism throughout Red Deer and area. The 2010 Red Hat Awards campaign was again very successful with Tourism Red Deer setting a new record with receiving just over 1,800 nominations.”

Best Server: Restaurant / Bistro / Café

Debbie Schott – McDonalds East hill

Best Server: Lounge / Nightclub/ Pub

Carla Ward – Shade’s lounge

Best Back of House Personnel: Food and Beverage

Kelly Schiebelbein – Wok Box

Best Back of House Personnel: Accommodation

Karen Gato – Red Deer Lodge

Best Front Desk Personnel: Accommodation / Information Service

Suranga Keerthi – Holiday Inn Express

Best Customer Service Personnel: Alternate Accommodation: B&B/ Campground/ Guest Ranch

Cheryl Stoutley – Westerner Campground

Best Customer Service Personnel: Attraction / Recreation / Entertainment Anthony Davidson – Collicutt Centre

Best Clerk Representative

Barry Taylor – Safeway Port O’Call

Tara Spooner – The Bra Lounge

Best Customer Service Personnel: Transportation/ Auto Service/ Service Stations

Diann Ritchie – Southside Dodge Chrysler

Best Manager/ Supervisor: All Tourism and Hospitality related businesses

Steve Blackwell – Red Deer Lodge

Lana Goldie – Best Western Inn & Suites

Business of the Year:

Wok Box

Organization of the Year

The Market@Red Deer

Volunteer of the Year

Mary Lou Armstrong

Bachusky