Celebrating success

It’s very rare when a week goes by where I don’t have a rewarding experience of representing Wiltshire Council.

Sometimes it can be something as simple as receiving positive feedback about one of our many services, or hearing that an employee has gone above and beyond – which I’m very pleased to say happens a lot.

Just lately we seem to be receiving high praise and celebrating a lot of success.
Last week, I was extremely proud to accept an award on behalf of our Health & Wellbeing Board which won ‘effective health and wellbeing board’ at the annual Local Government Chronicle Awards. To get an award, particularly one as prestigious as this one from the LGC, really highlights the great work that we are doing on the national stage.

As chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board it was extremely gratifying to win because, to put it simply, it means the work we’re doing is of a high standard and it’s making a difference. As chair it is my job to steer the ship and that task is made much easier thanks to the support from people working in the various organisations that make up the board. Everyone involved has a vital role and I know that they are all as delighted as I am that their peers hold all of us in such high esteem.

Our task now is to maintain and, if we can, exceed the high standards we have set ourselves. The true mark of quality is consistently delivering and achieving success over a long period of time, and we are all working hard so that this award isn’t just a one-off, but marks the start of the next round of improvements and delivery.

Achieving success over a long period of time is also a sentiment that many enduring sportspeople will recognise. We are extremely fortunate in our county to have a talented group of athletes looking to succeed. We have seen the benefit that sporting success can bring to the county and the impact it has on our communities. That’s why over a number of years we have done everything we can to show our support and help our athletes on their way to becoming future Olympians and Paralympians.

We recently hosted our annual Business and Sports Gala Dinner with local businesses coming together to raise as much money as possible for our local sporting stars. The businesses excelled themselves once again raising £38,000. This money will help top athletes by providing funding for equipment, transport costs and competition fees. It was so rewarding handing out the grants to people enthusiastically and proudly representing such a diverse range of sports. You name a sport, and we’re supporting it - from swimming to sprint canoeing and boccia to skateboarding. I regularly talk about the importance of communities and in this instance our local business community has once again really stepped up and the support it has shown is truly inspiring.

We will continue to work closely with both our businesses and sporting communities as we go through this Olympic year and, I have to mention; has it really been nearly four years since London 2012 and since we hosted the Olympic Torch in our county? How the four years have flown and what a legacy we have delivered.

Focusing on success, I was thrilled that six of our apprentices have won the South West Apprenticeship Business Challenge 2016. Here at the council we are huge supporters of apprentices and know from experience how rewarding it is to ‘grow your own’ and to see them flourish not only here, but at other local businesses too. I’d like to congratulate Kieran Jenkins, Katy Harrington, Christa Harrington, Claire Ashton, Damion Godwin and Megan Mounty on their success.  I will certainly be taking a keen interest in their future endeavours as I have a feeling it won’t be the last we hear of them.

It’s nice to be able to reflect on a rewarding time and I hope so far this year you too have had positive experiences at work that have made you feel proud. Those moments, big or small, help to keep us energised and motivated, and that can only be a good thing for the council, our residents and each of us.

Finally, I just wanted to wish you all a happy Easter break and thank you for all your hard work and support during this first quarter of the year – which has been particularly busy. Also, a big thanks to all those who are working or on call over the break, it really is appreciated.