‘Going above and beyond’ - Rochdale honours achievements at staff awards

Date published: 05 December 2018

Outstanding achievements by Rochdale Borough Council employees were recognised during The Ace Staff Awards held at the town hall.

Eight awards were presented to individuals and teams after more than 260 staff were nominated by local residents and colleagues for excellence, commitment and hard work.

The pride of the borough award, solely nominated by local people, went to library worker Irene Peachey.  She has provided literacy and rhyme sessions to children for many years as well as hosting the Bookstart Bear Club.  Described as ‘someone who improves the lives of young people’ Irene ‘is loved by parents and youngsters right across the borough.’

Employee of the year was awarded to receptionist Amanda Price. Known to many as the face of the organisation, at Number One Riverside in Rochdale she is the first point of contact with staff, visitors and suppliers.  Her cheery and good natured approach has been noted by thousands of people, and Amanda’s proactive ‘can do’ attitude leaves a positive impression on everyone.

The Community Action Award was won by Nadeem Hussain. As a youth worker and local resident the award recognised his work across the borough volunteering for a range of local charities over the past few years as well as working with young people.  He has a strong sense of civic pride and was described as a ‘tireless volunteer’.

Chloe Johnson, one of the council’s rapidly rising stars, described as a ‘great role model’ won young employee of the year.  The apprentice outreach worker is an active community champion and supports vulnerable young people.

Learner of the year was Georgia Harden. Over the last eighteen months the finance business support officer has gone from strength to strength, passing exams, undertaking further training and now mentoring other apprentices. Georgia was described as a ‘determined, hard-working and committed member of the team’.

The rising participation and skills team won the inspiring change award for managing the authority’s apprenticeships scheme.  They have delivered workshops across the country showcasing their pioneering work and their innovative ways of working with schools has attracted national praise.

The counter fraud team scooped team of the year, after being runner up in 2017. Over the last three years they’ve been responsible for achieving significant savings for the authority by identifying fraud. Last year the team achieved over £350,000 of savings.

The outstanding achievement award was won by gardeners Jamie White and Mark Bourne. The team of two have produced stunning displays for Rochdale, Heywood, Middleton and Pennine ‘In Bloom’. Their features included the multi-award winning ‘silent soldier’ pop up garden in Rochdale town centre and judges said they ‘are a credit to the borough and themselves’.

The evening was opened by the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Mohammed Zaman, who said councillors are grateful for the hard work and dedication of council staff: “These awards remind us about the huge amount of work done and how we make a difference to people’s lives. I also thank our sponsors whose generous support made the evening possible.”

Council leader Allen Brett closed the event and said it is important to celebrate success.  He said: “I’m privileged that I get to see first-hand a lot of the work that council officers do on a regular basis. I’m very pleased that so many people, including lots of residents, took the time to make a nomination. Congratulations to all our finalists and winners.”

Chief executive Steve Rumbelow added: “Whether it’s filling potholes, helping children and families, finding people jobs, keeping our parks pristine, emptying bins, looking after vulnerable adults or one of the hundreds of other services we provide our staff help make the borough a better place. The Ace Awards recognise the very best, and I am very proud of all of our colleagues.”

The awards were sponsored by Rochdale Training, Countryside Properties, Keepmoat Homes, Cooney Civil Engineering, Link4Life, Agilisys, Gleeson Homes, YPO, Balfour Beatty, Taylor Wimpey, Liquid Logic, The Link Group, Schneider Electric, FW Sherratt Ltd and Faun-Zoeller UK.

During the evening there were musical performances from Rochdale guitarist Becky Langan and local singer/songwriter Joe Dunne.