First Colleague Awards Ceremony; an amazing success!
We had a fabulous turnout with almost a hundred and twenty colleagues celebrating their success at The Shubbery Hotel in Ilminster.
The awards included 65 nominations for Everyday Heroes during 2019, and an impressive 115 nominations for the 10 award categories which included Manager of the Year, Initiative of the Year and Support Worker of the Year.
The team of judges was made up of: Quality consultants, HR manager, David Staples; Director of Transformation, Steve Veevers; Involvement and Engagement Advisor, Beccy Simmonds; and Marketing and Communications Officer, Natasha Neenan. It was not an easy decision.
The finalists and award winners are:
Manager of the Year: the Finalists were: Liz Perry, Dawn Graham and Paul Kitto. The winner was Liz Perry for her hard work and tenacity.
Initiative of the Year: the Finalists were: Buddy the dog, Vicky Way and Shona Howes. The winner was Vicky Way who arranged for Lizzie, who we support at Eldermere in Shepton Mallet, to spend Christmas with her family.
Support Worker of the Year: Lucie Nurse, Vicky Baker, Joy Frapple and Pauline Bacon were all finalists in this category. The winner was Vicky Baker. Vicky brings so much to the role and demonstrates endless compassion.
Agency Worker of the Year: Hannah Bullock, Ian Wilson, and David Knight were in the final three. The winner was David Knight; he has been working with us at Orchard Dale for two years and is a key part of the team.
Outstanding Contribution: The three Finalists were Heather Braine, Geoff Seal and Claire Burge. The winner was Geoff Seal. He took gentleman that we support with profound autism, on holiday.
Operations Support Colleague of the Year: The Finalists were: Bev Irish, Hannah Green and Kim Furniss. The winner was Hannah Green. She organised the funeral of a gentleman we support.
Supported Employment Colleague of the Year: The Finalists were Alex Seddon, Claire Atkinson and Louise Foxwell. The winner was Alex Seddon who is an outstanding manager.
Best Newcomer: The Finalists were: Chelsea Brown, Sean Grange, and Ebony Farrant. The winner was Chelsea. She has never worked in care before and has embraced her role as a Support Worker making a difference to the people we support.
Volunteer of the Year: The Finalists were Bruce Eley and Sara Oddy. The winner was Bruce Eley for doing an amazing job supporting the coffee bar at Colliers Court.
Operations Team of the Year: The Finalists were Selwyn House, Ashbury and Northmead House. The winner was Northmead as the team demonstrate Discovery’s values on a daily basis.
Business Support Team of the Year: Supported Employment team, Resourcing team. The winner was the Resourcing team which has managed to rapidly improve the recruitment process. In only one month, the team has recruited just short of 27 brand new support workers.
And the final award for the Everyday Hero Superhero went to Sonia Hastie. She lives and breathes a person-centred approach and has an imaginative mind, putting together many fun and educational sessions.