Some of the biggest names in the security industry were in attendance to see this year’s winners in Ward Security’s third Annual Employee Awards Dinner.
With security and equality very much the themes for the night, guest of honour was Baroness Ruth Henig CBE, chairman of the Security Industry Authority.
“I was extremely pleased to be able to participate in the awards presentation,” said Baroness Henig. “The event emphasised all the qualities which are so important to successful private security operators.”
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 clients.
Held at Oakwood House in Maidstone, Kent, guests were also treated to an enlightening speech by Moira Cameron, the first ever female yeoman warder – or Beefeater - at the Tower of London, charged with protecting the Crown Jewels.
Frank, funny, and self-deprecating, Moira entertained the guests with her tales on how women have been treated by men at the Tower, referencing the beheading of Lade 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.
But 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 line 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 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 £250 of holiday vouchers.
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 £1000 of holiday vouchers.
The judges described Peter “ as always flexible and adaptable”, and “his work and dedicated attitude are highly commended”.
This year’s event featured a new award, the Silver Fox Award 2009, which was presented by Terry O’Neil, chairman of The Security Watchdog which organises the scheme.
Commenting on Ward Security’s performance, Mr 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.”
Ward Security 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 that they can rely upon.
“By recognising some of these outstanding performances, we hope to build a culture within the business where our employees continually strive to be the best they can in whatever role they are working. We are 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:
Employee of the Year: Peter Smith
Special Recognition Award: Lee Gleeson
Special Recognition Award: Adrian Hinder
London Regional Award: Andreas Alekkou
West Regional Award: Peter Barrowcliffe
Midlands Regional Award: Mohammed Khan
Response Regional Award: Glen Gould
South East Regional Award: Rodney Secluna
