Dubai: Of all the delivery men in the country, they are probably the most hardworking lot. They dutifully patrol each area at the exact hour every morning to literally bring the news to you, our readers.
These men, around 600 of them, are Gulf News’ army of newspaper distributors who work tirelessly all year round despite challenging conditions to ensure that Gulf News reaches its tens of thousands of subscribers daily.
Gulf News on Monday honoured the efforts of these dedicated men for helping the newspaper reach greater heights and making it the most-read English daily in the UAE.
Duleep George, Executive Director, Strategy and Marketing at Gulf News, congratulated the distributors for the efforts they exerted throughout the past year. George recognised the contributions of all the departments in Gulf News, with special emphasis on the distributors whom the company fully depends on.
“As a team, it’s you guys who have done a superb job,” George said amid the cheering crowd.
Thomas Mathew, Distribution Manager, also lauded the distributors for consistently reaching the target set for them and even beyond.
Abdul Hamid Ahmad, Executive Director, Publications and Editor-in-Chief of Gulf News, and Duleep George, Executive Director, Strategy and Marketing at Gulf News present the trophy to Javed Malik, Area Distribution Manager, Gulf News Distribution, after his team won the Top Region in the 2014-15 Gulf News subscription campaign award. Photo: Ahmed Ramzan
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“We reached 120.3 per cent of our target and that’s because of all of these guys. For most of the people here they are like our unsung heroes. They do their work very late in the night, go early in the morning to make sure all the deliveries are done properly,” Mathew said.
“They are relentless. They are like a small army going out there to do battle. And the good thing is that they go out there with that mindset. For us, these guys are an asset.”
Among those who made the success possible was Javed Malik, Area Distribution Manager in Abu Dhabi, who headed around 100 distributors in that region. Malik’s team bagged the Top Region award and he attributed it to one thing: teamwork.
Teamwork may be the secret but there are individuals who also stood out, like Jhasa Nath from Nepal.
Nath bagged the Top Distributor award this year with his children’s future as his motivation.
“I have been working with Gulf News for the past eight years and this is the happiest moment in my life in working in this company. Last year, I was placed second but this time I worked harder to bag the first prize,” Nath, 37, who received three top prizes in different categories, said.
“I’m saving this amount for my daughter’s higher education because she’s already in the 10th grade so I need to save for it,” Nath added.
The same is true for Palaniappan Anand, 51, from India. Anand received three awards, including the ‘Fastest to 100% in the UAE’ or the fastest distributor to hit the mark. Anand has been a consistent awardee for the past eight years and is considered “one of the best guys in the team”.
The awardees received cash prizes, certificates and trophies. Some 20 lucky distributors were given plane tickets to their hometown as a bonus.
The event was held at the Grand Hyatt.
