Winners of the prestigious East Lothian Council STAR Awards were announced at a celebratory event held at The Brunton, Musselburgh.
The STAR Awards celebrate the achievements of East Lothian Council employees who have gone the extra mile to carry out their work and have been nominated by members of the public and colleagues. The STAR Awards also recognise the commitment of employees through long service awards.
Now in their twelfth year, the 2019 Awards received more than 200 nominations giving the board of judges the difficult job of whittling them down to 33 finalists in 11 categories who attended the award ceremony.
Congratulations to Morven McLelland, Adult Wellbeing, who won the coveted ‘Council Employee of the Year’ sponsored by Morrison Construction. Described as 'someone who excels in delivering new projects and motivating the staff team' Morven was instrumental in establishing the Wellwynd Hub which came about when East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership, working with the council’s Housing Service, converted a former warden’s flat for sheltered housing into a ‘dementia friendly’ homely setting.
The facility in Tranent features smart technology to assist people requiring technology to help with daily tasks such as reminders or turning on lights by voice command. It has transformed services to people requiring occupational therapy, telecare and housing interventions in East Lothian.
She was presented with her award by Phillip Galbraith of Morrison Construction.
The Finance team won the 2019 Team of the Year. The team was nominated for their work including a review of the council's Loans Fund which in 2018/19 delivered a saving of £3.6m and is likely to deliver a similar level of saving in 2019/20.
The review was transformational in its nature, and was one of the first councils in Scotland adopt such an approach. The scale of financial savings realised through this review is very significant and can support the council to transform service delivery going forward.
The team award was presented by Gary Scougall of Eve Coaches
Speaking at the awards, Alex McCrorie, Interim Chief Executive of East Lothian Council, said:
“Star Awards provides the opportunity to recognise and appreciate the work we do, the people we do it for, and publically recognise those who go the extra mile to make a real difference to both customers and colleagues alike.
“The number of STAR Award nominations we receive each year continues to grow which I believe is a clear reflection of our customers’ satisfaction of our services.
“As an organisation, we are fortunate to have so many people dedicated to maintaining a culture of excellence regardless of challenges we face. So, thank you to our staff for continuing to deliver first-class services and support to the people of East Lothian.”
Thanks were extended to all of the sponsors of STAR Awards – AC’s Taxis, Biffa, Dennis Eagle, East Coast Buses, EDF Energy, EVE coaches, FCC Environment and Morrison Construction.
The full list of STAR Award winners:
Customer Excellence - Individual
Winner – Helen Kelly, Revenues and Welfare Support
Highly Commended – Lorraine Rutherford, School Crossing Patrol Service
Finalists – Sarah Middleton, Customer Services; Maria Millar, Catering Knox Academy
Customer Excellence – Team
Winner – Haddington Customer Services
Highly Commended – Transport Services Bus Drivers and Escorts
Finalist – Building Standards
Unsung Heroes
Winner – Phil Gilholm, Knox Academy
Highly Commended – Property Maintenance Stores Team
Finalist - Karen Kelly, Cleaner, John Muir House
Working in Partnership
Winner – Dinners at Dunbar Grammar School
Highly Commended – Protective Services
Finalists – Claire Pannell, Museums; Hilary Smith, North Berwick Coastal Area Partnership
Council Values Award
Winner – Laura Gunning, Environmental Health
Highly Commended – Lindsay Inglis, Communications
Finalist – John White, Amenity Services
One Council
Winner – Wellwynd Hub
Highly Commended – Louise Stewart, Communications
Finalist – HR & Payroll System Implementation Team
Community Award
Winner – Kirsty McLuckie, Dunbar Grammar
Highly Commended – Katie Nevans, Community Development
Finalist – Blooming Haddington
Provost’s Award: Young Council Worker
Joint winners – Annabel Fergie, HR;
Charlie Scott, Property Maintenance
Highly Commended – Anna Girvan, Customer Services; Lewis McKinnon, Waste Services
Wellbeing Award
Winner – Rose Zielinska, Children’s Wellbeing
Highly Commended – Countryside Rangers
Finalist – Healthy Working Lives Team
Team of the Year
Winner – Finance Team
Highly Commended – Community Review Team
Finalist – Revenues and Benefits
Employee of the Year
Winner – Morven McLelland, Adult Wellbeing
Watch to hear from some of the award winners, the Star Awards hosts and Interim Chief Executive Alex McCrorie.