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Great North Care Awards 2008

For the latest on the Great North Care Awards 2009 go to the

Main GNCA 2009 Page.

First Great North Care Awards 2008 a huge success!

More than 650 people attended the first Great North Care Awards 2008 hosted by the ICG and held at the National Railway Museum on 14 November 2008.

It was the biggest event of its kind held for social care in the North of England.

Many congratulations to all our winners and to everyone who entered our first Great North Care Awards. Each of them is a star.

A total of 236 entries were received for 14 awards – and all were of a very high standard. The judges had a very hard job but 64 people were short-listed and came to be intereviewed at the Royal York Hotel. A total of 29 judges helped us on the day. One judge told us ‘It was an absolute privilege to be a judge ... it was remarkable to see that wealth of expertise in one place and so many people so passionate about social care.’

Winners were announced at the Gala Dinner. ICG would like to thank everyone who came along to the event and helped to make it a night to remember The National Railway Museum proved to be an excellent venue and provided first class service and food – and the atmosphere was electric. Indeed, the success of the evening has amazed everyone involved.

The Awards were presented by Harry Gration of BBC Look North.

Thank you

ICG thanks all those who supported the event – our partners: North Yorkshire County Council, City of York Council and Skills for Care and all our sponsors Royal Bank of Scotland, Caring Business, HET Software, ICare, Smith Smalley, Architects, Watson Burton law firm, Winn and Co Chartered Accountants, the National Association of Care Catering and Citation. Without their support we could not have held the Awards.

Our very special thanks are due to Lisa Carr and her great team of helpers for all their hard work on making the Awards such a resounding success.

Here are just some of the many comments we have received on the event:
‘we had a brilliant night and thought the venue was perfect’
‘a super night ... my staff member said she felt like a Hollywood star’
‘a great evening, thank you for raising awareness of the care industry in such a professional way’
‘a fabulous event’
‘a great night to reward people in our industry and make others aware of the fantastic job people do for often little financial reward’
‘everyone is still buzzing’
‘it was brilliant and succeeded in what you set out to do - celebrating care’
‘the organisation was simply superb and Harry Gration did a great compering job’

Why did ICG hold the Great North Care Awards?

There are many reasons why we held the Great North Care Awards. Here are some of them:

o to celebrate excellent work o to promote the care sector o to give public recognition to individuals and organisations who go the extra mile in their work o valuing staff - to help with retention of staff by marking their high value within their own organisations o to encourage new people to see the care sector as a valued place to work o to give people a chance to dress up, celebrate and enjoy themselves in special surroundings.

We know that care providers find it difficult to attend events in London with all the expense of travel and accommodation. This made ICG determined to give people a chance to celebrate nearer to home.

Its amazing success demonstrates that there is a real appetite for this event and we are already talking of the next one.

Click here to see the Stars of the Great North Care Awards 2008 page

The Great North Care Awards Programme includes photographs of all the short-listed candidates as well as the judges. Great North Care Awards Programme PDF.

Photos taken at the Great North Care Awards 2008 are available from: www.care-awards.co.uk.