What is the purpose of the talk?

I would first like to thank you for attending Mather Associates’ annual Employee Awards Ceremony. Without any further ado, I’d like to present our Employee of the Year award to Ms. Gail Stanford. Many of you remember Ms. Stanford when she began work at our agency 14 years ago. During her time here, she has continually displayed remarkable energy and creativity. After taking a year off to pursue her hobby of travel photography, Ms. Stanford returned to Mather last year and developed the memorable magazine, online, and television advertising campaign for Internal Software Inc. Before we begin eating tonight, I would like Ms. Stanford to come on stage and give a brief speech.