​The ‘stars’ who go the extra mile for our borough

Individuals and teams were rewarded for ‘going the extra mile’ at Bury Council’s annual STAR (Special Thanks And Recognition) awards.

Local residents and workplace colleagues nominated a record 126 people in the awards, now in their 14th year, which were presented last night in the Elizabethan Suite.

The 2019 winners are:

Employee of the Year - Sarah Hodgkinson. Sarah is a personal advisor with the Extra Mile service, and has supported many vulnerable people to develop their skills. Sarah regularly gets extremely positive feedback from the people she works with who wouldn’t be where they are today without Sarah’s support and guidance.

Team of the Year - Older People’s Staying Well Team. The team is passionate about improving the lives of older residents by supporting them to improve their health and wellbeing. They go above and beyond expectations to empower residents to take responsibility for their own wellbeing.

Partnership Award - The Accommodation Team. Working with Refugee Action, the team helps refugee families move into education and work, volunteer in the community, make new friends and realise their potential.

Employee Champion Award – Anthony Sproson. Anthony has been extremely proactive as a ‘change agent’ within the council, providing a link between front-line staff and leaders to improve communication and drive forward the major changes that the organisation is making.

Volunteer of the Year - David Catterall, service manager at the council’s civic venues. On top of his day job, David commits a huge amount of time to volunteering including supporting the development of Bury Pride and the Bury LGBT+ forum. He was also awarded the Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable’s citizens commendation for partnership working.

Customer Service Excellence Award - Steven Hampson. Steven is a social worker based at Humphrey House, and was nominated by one of his client’s family members for the help and support he has provided over the last few years.

Unsung Hero - Joanna Lee. Joanna completed 40 years’ service in August as a swimming instructor, ensuring that generations of Bury people have grown up learning to swim and are safe in the water.

Geoff Little, chief executive of Bury Council, said: “These awards demonstrate the commitment, passion and dedication shown by our staff to support all of the people and communities of the borough of Bury.

“This has been a year of tremendous change, bringing many challenges as we strive to provide the best services we can with the resources at our disposal. It’s a pleasure to officially thank our staff for their work, and I would also like to thank our many partners, who play an essential role in helping us to achieve our goals and deliver our services.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 6 December 2019.

Picture: Winners of the STAR awards.