West Lothian teen named most inspiring young person in country

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A West Lothian teenager has been named the most inspiring young person in the country.Sophie Mackenzie, a 19-year-old hotel supervisor from West Lothian has won NFU Mutual’s Inspirational Young Person Award.The award, which is in its fifth year, was launched by the insurer in partnership with industry leadership organisation Scotland Food and Drink, seeking to uncover inspirational examples of talented 16 to 26-year-olds who own, work or study in the food and drink sector.With a prize of £500, the award aims to highlight not only the enormous contribution that young people make to Scotland’s food and drink businesses, but also the importance of the sector to the wider economy.First-place winner Sophie took on the role of general assistant at The Watchman Hotel in Gullane, East Lothian on its opening in 2021, aged just 18.It was Sophie’s first ever job and her outstanding dedication to service, standards and excellent feedback from patrons, led to her promotion to hotel supervisor in March 2022.Sophie, who is studying for a HNC in Event Management, was nominated by hotel manager Neil King.He said: “Sophie is the perfect example of what hospitality can do for a young individual.

She is a leading light for our industry and our hotel. Our business would not be the same without her.”Sophie Mackenzie, said she’s extremely proud to have won.She said: “I’m extremely thankful to my manager Neil for nominating me and feel really proud of myself for achieving this accolade and in my first job.“I get a real buzz working at The Watchman and seeing the delight our customers get from enjoying our food and facilities.