With security and equality very much the themes for the night, guest of honour was Baroness Ruth Henig CBE, the chairman of the Security Industry Authority.
Also in attendance were Terry O’Neil, chairman of The Security Watchdog, Keith Hanson (chief exhibitor of the Crown Jewels) and more than 100 staff and company clients.
The event was held at Oakwood House in Maidstone, Kent, where the guests were also treated to an enlightening speech courtesy of Moira Cameron, the first-ever female yeoman warder – or Beefeater – at the Tower of London and charged with protecting the Crown Jewels.
Frank, funny and self-deprecating, Cameron entertained the guests with her tales of how women have been treated by men at the Tower, referencing the beheading of Lady Jane Grey and alluding to her own position as she became the first female yeoman warder in the institution’s history after completing the required 22 years of service in the Army.
Employees are the real gems
However, it was the Ward Security employees honoured on the night that were the real ‘jewels’, all of whom had shown a willingness to go beyond the call of duty in their roles providing security services to a wide range of clients.
Employees invited to attend had previously won an Employee of the Month Award for their region. This award was nominated by their client or other staff members in recognition of their high standards of service, their reliability and by dint of them having exceeded expectations with their performance.
At the dinner, the winners of the Regional Awards for each of Ward Security’s five business areas were announced. Each of the winners was presented with an engraved trophy and GB pound 250 of holiday vouchers.
Employee of the Year 2009
The top award of Employee of the Year was presented to Peter Smith, a long-standing security officer, who picked up his engraved trophy along with GB pound 1,000 of holiday vouchers.
The judges described Peter as “always flexible and adaptable”, stating that “his work and dedicated attitude are highly commended”.
This year’s event featured a new award, the Silver Fox Award 2009, which was duly presented by Terry O’Neil.
Commenting on Ward Security’s performance, O’Neil said: “Over the last 12 months we have carried out in excess of 40 Silver Fox on-site audits on Ward Security assignments. If the standards of companies are measured by the on-site performance of their staff, then this quite outstanding company sets standards that the rest of the industry would do well to follow. In short, they are a credit to the industry.”
A word or two from the MD
Ward Security’s managing director David Ward said the awards were a fitting tribute to the hard work of the company’s personnel.
“Ward Security’s reputation as a provider of bespoke security solutions rests on the quality of its employees’ performances, and their abilities to offer clients a consistency and quality of service upon which they can rely.”
He added: “By recognising some of these outstanding performances, we hope to build a culture within the business wherein our employees continually strive to be the best they can in whatever role they are undertaking. We’re already looking forward to next year’s awards, and believe that the competition will be even fiercer.”
The full list of winners is as follows:
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