Yesterday was our annual gala staff awards event, named in memory of one of our founders, Marjorie Newton Wright.
We came together from around the country to share a wonderful afternoon. Our co-hosts were Catherine, who chairs MacIntyre's staff representatives group, and Max from Leicester, who draws on our support and is a keen public speaker.
The MacIntyre Dancers kicked us off in fine style, we enjoyed three outstanding songs from John, Adam and Jack, with our Manchester Melodies Choir closing the show.
We were joined by honoured guests John Berriman, former Chair of our Trustees, and Karen Gunn, daughter of our founders, Ken and Marjorie Newton Wright.
Remembering our story
Before presenting the awards for Outstanding Frontline Employee in memory of his late father, John spoke of his family's close involvement in MacIntyre's history. His brother James was one of the first people supported by MacIntyre, and his father Sir David Berriman was instrumental in raising funding in the early days, and chaired our Trustee group for many years. Here are a couple of extracts from John's remarks:
From my father’s first discussion with Ken Newton Wright, he was certain he and Ken shared a common view about how MacIntyre should operate, putting young children, as they were then, at the heart of everything they did.
Ken was a remarkable visionary and it is so right that we celebrate the Newton Wright Awards every year, in the name of his wife Marjorie. And it is wonderful that his family continue to support the awards to this day. It is lovely to see Karen here.
It is wonderful to think that James has now enjoyed a 55 year lifetime involvement at MacIntyre. He has been nurtured through his young teens into a young adult, then a mature adult and now into his old age. He met and married Angela at MacIntyre, and they were one of the first couples in the UK with Downs Syndrome to marry. They had the most remarkably happy life for 20 years and it was only last year that Angela very sadly died.
My father was delighted that a decade after he stepped down from MacIntyre, the trustees asked me to take on the chairmanship of the charity. He was the most incredible mentor and voice in my ear, always showing great care and concern for MacIntyre and me. He was a huge fan both of Sarah Burslem and Bill Mumford before Sarah. He was delighted that everything that he wanted for James has been delivered, not only to James but also to literally thousands of other children and adults over his lifetime. A week or so before he died, I had my last substantial chat with him and the first thing we chatted about was MacIntyre and James. It was always the great love of his life, as was James, and today is a wonderful opportunity to remember his incredible contribution to the development of MacIntyre from its first days.
Celebrating our Winners
And of course we celebrated our winners. You can see from the photo they were delighted with the recognition!
We'll be sharing individual categories and stories in the coming weeks, but meantime here are the results (in the order in which they were announced).
The Runners-Up
So close, and so deserving!
Newcomer to MacIntyre or Role
- Andrea Reich, No Limits Oxfordshire
Operational Team - Adult Social Care
- St James's Road, The Wirral
Operational Team - Children and Young People
- No Limits, Oxfordshire
Specialist Support Team
- Greater Manchester Administration
Everyone Everywhere
- Natalia Miotk, MacIntyre School, Wingrave
Outstanding Frontline Employee, Children and Young People
- Sanela Savory, No Limits, Oxfordshire
Outstanding Frontline Employee, Adult Social Care
- Lynda Bayliss, The Haddons, Milton Keynes
The Winners
Embodying everything that MacIntyre stands for
Newcomer to MacIntyre or Role
- Robert Carr, Lifelong Learning, Chesterfield
Operational Team - Adult Social Care
- Masefield Crescent, Oxfordshire
Operational Team - Children and Young People
- No Limits Bedfordshire
Specialist Support Team
- Payroll/Staff Support
Outstanding Specialist Support Employee
- Mark White, Finance Team
Everyone Everywhere
- Helen Robins, Fletchers Mews, Milton Keynes
Working Together
- Scott Twycross, Leicester Outreach
Learning Advocate
- David Knight, Leicester Outreach
Outstanding Frontline Employee, Children and Young People
- Charles Chirikeni, MacIntyre School, Wingrave
Outstanding Frontline Employee, Adult Social Care
- Gareth Davies, Lifelong Learning, Chesterfield
Inspirational Leader - Adult Social Care North
- Carly Morrissey, Area Manager, Wrexham and the Wirral
Inspirational Leader - Adult Social Care South
- Lucy Watson, Area Manager, Bedfordshire
Inspirational Leader - Children and Young People
- Luke Vaughan, Registered Manager, Elm and Willow Children's Homes Wingrave
Inspirational Leader - Specialist
- Azar Ullah, Head of Recruitment
Huge congratulations to all our winners and runners-up. We know the judges had a demanding time of it!
