Brandon Staff Awards honour exceptional social care workers
The spotlight has shone on some exceptional social care heroes at the Brandon Staff Awards.
On 23 February, more than 160 Brandon staff glamorously dressed for the occasion, gathered at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel for a gala awards event to celebrate some of their remarkable achievements in ensuring the people supported by Brandon can live the lives they choose.
Finalists honoured on the night included: social care support workers and team leaders from as far afield as Cornwall and London; colleagues in Brandon social enterprises who run businesses ranging from charity shops to cafes offering supported employment; and support services staff based at Brandon’s Bristol head office.
The awards saw Brandon colleagues, people supported by Brandon and their families, submit more than 400 nominations that showcased the ways in which staff exceed in their roles while embodying Brandon’s values.
And the winners are…
Eight finalists were shortlisted in each of the five categories aligned with Brandon’s Values: Equip; Challenge; Support; Recognise; and Involve.
And the winners are:
- Equip Award: David Adams, Support Worker, Bristol
- Challenge Award: Scott Allen, Acting Team Leader, Cornwall
- Support Award: Diane Waters, Team Leader, Wiltshire
- Recognise Award: The Badgers Croft Team, Gloucestershire
- Involve Award: Aaron Vaughan, Acting Team Leader, London
“Pride in Brandon”
Helen England, Brandon’s Interim Chief Executive, who opened the event, said: "I am so proud to be here with you all this evening. We are celebrating tonight our incredible finalists, we are applauding our deserving winners, but we are also proud of every single person at Brandon who contributes to our success.
"Tonight is about our pride in Brandon and I know that together, we will continue to achieve wonderful things as we ensure that the people we support are given every opportunity to live the lives they want to live."
Finalists also included a group of people we support called The Adventurers, who are also employed by Brandon, to ensure that the people we support are involved in organisational decisions that would impact them.
Each of the winners was presented with a trophy plate made by people supported at one of Brandon’s social enterprises, Banwell Pottery.
These awards were made possible thanks to a fund for Brandon staff set up by our first chief executive, Steve Bennett, who sadly passed away in 2004.
Next year’s staff awards will coincide with Brandon’s 30th anniversary and plans are already underway for a spectacular celebration.
