The Johnnie Walker Man of the Year Award is being held in Malta this year for the first time. This was announced by M. Demajo (Wines and Spirits) Ltd organisers of this award and local distributors of Johnnie Walker Scotch Whiskey.
The Johnnie Walker Man of the Year Award seeks to reward the achievements of Maltese men whose personal progress mirrors that of the brand’s adage: “Keep walking”. The criteria for choosing the nominees are based on the core brand essence of Johnnie Walker, that is, a life/story of continuous personal progress and achievement.
A specially selected judging panel made up of Albert Fenech, Marie Therese Zammit, Winston J. Zahra, Lou Bondi and Sarah Puntan-Galea, has short-listed 12 individuals. These are divided into four categories, namely, Arts and Entertainment: Mario Philip Azzopardi, director, Luciano Micallef, artist, Trevor Zahra, writer; Sports: Chris Dougall, sailor, Nicky Farrugia, athlete, Michael Mifsud, footballer; Business/Entrepreneur: Ivan Bartolo, company director 6pm, John Magro, company director Magro Brothers Group, Andrew Mangion, CEO EC English Language Schools; and Professionals: Giovanni Bonello, Judge, Prof. Edward de Bono, creator of Lateral Thinking and Nathan Farrugia, CEO Razzett tal-Hbiberija.
M. Demajo (Wines and Spirits) Ltd, in collaboration with The Circle magazine, is awarding winners of a monthly competition, a deluxe presentation pack featuring a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black and a bottle of Johnnie Walker Green. Participants have to reply to a simple question and the first correct answer wins. Amy Calleja won the July competition and Rosanne Micallef of B’Kara is the winner for August.
Readers may also vote for the man they believe deserves to win in each of the four categories as well as for the overall winner. The winner of the Johnnie Walker Man of the Year Award will be announced at a special gala event in October. All readers who guess the eventual overall winner will also be eligible to participate in a final competition featuring a grand prize being offered by M. Demajo (Wines and Spirits) Ltd and Johnnie Walker. The prize offered is an all-expenses paid trip and stay for two people at the internationally renowned luxury 5-star Spa hotel and golf resort, Gleneagles in Scotland. Also included is a tour of the Johnnie Walker distillery, giving the winner a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in the process of producing Johnnie Walker, the most widely distributed brand of Scotch whisky in the world.
The Johnnie Walker Man of the Year Award is already an annual event in a number of countries worldwide and this will be the first ever edition to be held in Malta.