Directors and colleagues paid tribute to winners in various categories at the annual Shaw Star awards which took place at the Crown Plaza Inn at Gatwick on 17th May. 

The glittering occasion was attended by 120 staff, sponsors and most importantly the nominees who made it through from the regional awards.  Martin Prince, Regional Manager for the South East, hosted the event and true to form, delivered a performance that could have earned him an audition for the stage.

The day was perhaps best summed up by Chief Executive, Jeremy Nixey, who said, "I wish all nominees could be winners. However all are stars".

The first award, the Team Leader Category went to Anita Batchelor who is a Team Leader at Longlands, Daventry. Anita, who has worked for Shaw since 2004, was nominated due to her support and confidence that she gives when running the dementia unit. Anita gains the confidence of the service users within a very short space of time and is always reassuring towards them.

The Carer of the Year award was won by Beverely Weaver who is a support worker at Leadon Bank in Ledbury. Bev transferred from Herefordshire council and has taken on many different roles during her time and the old and new Leadon Bank - many of those roles being beyond the call of duty.

Bev has shown that hard work, a positive attitude and personal commitment really does make a difference to the quality of support to the lives of service users.

Christine Pelper scooped the award for the Care supporter Category. Christine, who works at The Granary in Wraxall, North Somerset, has shown drive and determination to tackle any problem that is put in her way. Christine has been instrumental in ensuring that effective implementation of systems and procedures have been properly put in place. Christine said, " I am proud to have won The Shaw Star as a Care Supporter which is entirely due to the support that I have received from all my colleagues at The Granary".

The award for NVQ Champion was taken home by Deborah Youngman, Support Worker at Deerswood Lodge in Crawley.  Deborah won this award due to the successful achievement of her health and Social Care NVQ level 2 and also because of her excellent standard of practice and dedication to service users.

Deborah Said, "When my Home Manager approached me about doing my NVQ I was worried because I have dyslexia. With the help from the staff I was amazed that I passed my NVQ. Then I was told that I was nominated for the Regional Shaw Stars which I won and then went on to win the National Shaw Stars which is for me a fantastic achievement. I am so grateful that Jo, my Home Manager, nominated me and saw that I had potential even though I have dyslexia”.

A new category this year was the Head Office Award which recognised the contribution of head office. The first winner of this award was Julia Dobbs, Payroll Manager.

Julia was nominated not just because she works hard and does a good job but because she consistently goes the extra mile for the benefit of the company and the staff. Julia has an inbuilt desire to get things right and is tireless in her commitment and does everything with good cheer and brilliant diplomacy.

Julia said, "I am very honoured to receive the first ever Shaw Head Office award, I also have a great admiration for my fellow colleagues and those who work through the many SHAW services and to the dedication they give to those they look after".

The Home Manager award was won by Terri Packer of Homefield House, Basingstoke. Teri has built excellent working partnerships, in particular, with the Alzheimer's Society. They have held joint fund raising day with local groups and schools. You can often go to Homefield House and find a sign saying, "All gone out for the day, please come back tomorrow". That is because Terri has arranged one of many days out when the residents, staff and relatives have a trip to the seaside, theatre or another fun venue.

The winner of the Chef/Cook award went to Noreen Westwood, the catering manager at West View, Tenterden.

Noreen is an exceptional individual with skill and talent at her fingertips. A dedicated chef, she has taken on board a wider remit within all of the South East Region. She also has the Skills to put on an excellent buffet when called upon, and does all of this with a smile.

Noreen Said, "Working for Shaw healthcare and all its challenges is prize enough but to be recognised by the company for only doing my job is very satisfying and rewarding and is only achieved by the support I get from all and all of the finalists were the winners not just me".

The final award was for Outstanding Contribution which was won by Janet Morgan, Operations Project Manager for the West and East Midlands.

Jan is a real team player who is very flexible in her working role, as witnessed by her working both in the East and the West Midlands regions on various important projects. Jan was chosen for these projects because her work is always to extremely high standards.

Jan has recently worked with the Shaw Dependency Tool and has completed this task with extreme professionalism at all times. her commitment to the organisation is beyond the call of duty.

Director of Human Resources, Les Urquhart, Said, "The annual National Stars ceremony highlights the dedication of our staff and gives us the opportunity to recognise their commitment and contribution. It is the culmination of a lot of hard work by a lot of people - from coordinating all the individual nominations through to arranging the superb Regional ceremonies. On behalf of the steering committee I would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has contributed to making this such a continuing success".