A GIRVAN woman has been awarded a special scholarship to pursue her hospitality dream.

Gillian Purdie who works at Ballantrae’s Glenapp Castle has been awarded the Hospitality Trust Scotland’s First Chris Rouse Scholarship.

The scholarship is in memory of former Turnberry Hotel manager Chris Rouse who helped to transform the hotel into the luxury spa and golf resort that it is today.

Gillian was chosen as the first winner of the accolade after she showed real enthusiasm for her role at Glenapp and for growing her career in the industry.

She is currently the Sales, Marketing and Revenue Manager with Glenapp Castle, near Ballantrae.

Gillian started off as a receptionist after graduating from university and fell in love with the job.

Now she has set her goals on becoming a manager one day after falling in love with her job at Glenapp.

She said: “I loved the buzz, the fast-paced work schedule, the customer interaction and everything that came along with it. At the same time, the business had appointed a new Managing Director to drive the business forward and I have been so lucky to work alongside her and to be part in Gleapp’s new journey.”

Now she has been assigned the task of monitoring, managing and creating the content for the hotel’s social media platforms and website.

The scholarship will help her through a course to help her achieve this, Gillian said: “The course was so worthwhile, and quite an eye opener for me.

She took part in a two-day workshop learning how to form a useable digital marketing plan for Glenapp.

Gillian added: “The course was so worthwhile and eye opening for me.

“I left knowing I had a lot to do to ensure our digital marketing was a success, but my most important lesson was that I could do it myself – we know the product best and we should be running with it, not handing over to a design agency.

“These skills and having the confidence to use them, will help me position the castle as a key player against many of our competitors, which is fantastic for the local area.”

Gillian picked up her award at Turnberry Hotel where she met manager Ralph Porciani.