There was a great atmosphere at this year’s Times Crème Show at Olympia, with more exhibitors and visitors than ever before, and PAs, secretaries, office managers and administration staff were treated to a comprehensive seminar programme tailored to the needs of to-day’s office staff.

With an additional theatre this year, visitors had 24 seminars to choose from on each day of the event. The speakers included Sue France, last year’s Times Crème PA of the Year, who talked about what makes a top PA, and Monica Seeley, who writes the Crème Stress Busters column. Her Smart E-mail Management seminars were a great success. As well as picking up career advice, visitors could enjoy a massage at the DeStress Zone, receive their own style consultation and have a free manicure courtesy of the London College of Beauty Therapy. Planet, the fashion label, gave a preview of its designs for officewear in twice-daily fashion shows.

The second day of the show marked the crowning of The Times Crème and Hays Secretarial PA of the Year. Our winner, Lisa Rodgers, PA to Rachel Bell, the MD of Shine Communications, said: “It feels very special to win such a prestige award and gain recognition for all the hard work that PAs do. I received so many well-wishing messages; it’s lovely to feel that everyone is proud of my achievement.”

The runners-up — Jane Snee, Antoinette de Lisser and Sarah Darwin — received their trophies from Geoff Sims, the MD of Hays Secretarial. Lisa wins a week at the Fortina Spa Resort in Malta.

We extend our appreciation to everyone who entered, and to those bosses who nominated their PAs. Don’t forget to enter when the competition is relaunched next January.

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