CHAMPIONS of change who make BCHA an inspiring place to work and go above and beyond the call of duty to deliver excellence to customers were celebrated at the Bchangemakers Awards ceremony.

Returning to the Citygate Centre in Bournemouth, the uplifting awards ceremony brought the BCHA family of colleagues together for the first time since 2019, celebrating the achievements of outstanding team members who have delivered excellence and inspired others, despite the challenges of the last 12 months.

Here are the Bchangemakers champions who excelled at exhibiting BCHA’s values and behaviours, driving the development of an innovative, compassionate, and collaborative culture where customers’ needs are at the forefront of everything we do.

Nobel Newcomer Award winner: Kyla Cunningham (Pathways, Yeovil)

The Nobel Newcomer Award celebrates the remarkable achievements of a colleague who has joined the organisation within the last 12 months – in this case, Kyla Cunningham from Pathways in Yeovil, who triumphed out of 66 nominations received in this hotly-contested category.

Colleagues praised Kyla’s dedication to always making a positive impact on the development of customers at Pathways, praising her “breath-taking” commitment to the service.

Kyla said: “The whole team deserves an award, because we’re all really passionate about what we do. I’m absolutely gobsmacked, but it’s important to point out that we’re all driven by our residents.”

The award ceremony would not have been complete without throwing the spotlight on outstanding colleagues who received nominations for multiple awards.

Our Highly Commended hall of fame included Donna Cronshey (Service Lead at Pathways, Yeovil) who was nominated for six awards; Emma Williams (Temporary accommodation in Yeovil) who received nominations for five awards and Bev Munden (Senior Practitioner at George House in Plymouth) who was nominated for five awards.

CEO Martin Hancock, who has dedicated 22 years of service to BCHA, said: “It has been a privilege to be trusted to be the CEO of BCHA for what is approaching 16 years; to see the work that everyone does on a daily basis and to be reminded of it today. I’m sure that Lorraine Mealings [BCHA’s new CEO] will value that when she joins.”