Announcing the winners at a glittering launch party of Celebrity Equinox in Southampton, TTG news editor and competition judge Lee Hayhurst said: "The standard of the competition was incredibly high. They should all be very proud of reaching the finalist stage and the presentations they gave today."
In fact, the judges were so overwhelmed by the efforts candidates had gone to in their presentations, that a last-minute decision was made to award two runners-up who they felt had excelled in their categories.
Ava Coffin from Designer Travel was selected as the winner from the Girls 35 & Over category, while Ray Knox from Co-op Travelcare scored highest in the Boys 35 & Over category.
The judges who comprised Lee Hayhurst and Deborah Dewe from TTG, with James Neal, Michael English and Jessica Morgan from sponsor Celebrity Cruises, took more than an hour to decide which male and female agents should be crowned Face of Travel 2009. However, it was Grech and Hope who took the top prize at the evening's award presentations.
Speaking at the ceremony, Celebrity Cruises' head of field sales, Michael English, said: "Last year's competition was such a success that we knew we had to partner with TTG again this year. Today has been a wonderful day. While there always has to be a winner, each and every one of you has been a very worthy finalist."
Don't miss your copy of TTG on Friday August 7 to see pictures of the winners and read about all 16 finalists and their presentations.
