Looking over the beautiful cityscape at Frasers in Kings Park, on 13 November Activ held its annual Stars and Galaxy Awards Night, to recognise our amazing staff who go above and beyond to support our customers and each other.
The night began with a fantastic performance by the Activ Heartbeats performance group, made up of customers and support staff from Activ Community Services Beaconsfield, followed by the awards presentations and celebrations. This year, we were fortunate enough to celebrate our nominees and winners from 2020 and 2021, given the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
At Activ, our people are our most valuable asset, and we are proud of the belief, skills and commitment they bring to supporting our customers to live the life they choose, every day.
Staff recognised at last week’s awards night have shown a strong commitment to Activ’s values and Independence strategy, and we are truly proud to have them on our team.
Winners of the 2021 Annual Stars and Galaxy Awards
A big congratulations to the following staff members, who were awarded on the night.
2021 Stars Award winner – Sarah Kingdon, Geraldton Support Worker
Sarah was the winner of the 2021 Stars Award for her leadership role in the running of social activities for people with disability living in Geraldton – increasing people’s confidence, access to the community, opportunities for meeting friends and independence.
In particular, Sarah played an active role in setting up a local social group for people with disability called Geraldton Catch Up Times and arranging a talent evening for the group.
Sarah was recognised for her dedication to her customers at the sector-wide 2021 Disability Support Awards (DSA), where she was named one of three finalists in the Excellence in Supporting Inclusion and Citizenship award. Click here to read more about Sarah’s DSA nomination.
2021 Stars Award 1st runner up – Colin Kirkness, Property Care Manager
Colin was named the first runner up of the 2021 Stars Award for his work in continually looking at ways for Activ Property Care to develop the skills of our customers to increase their independence at work.
2021 Stars Award 2nd runner up – Russell Campbell, Finance Business Partner
Russell was awarded second runner up of the 2021 Stars Award for providing practical support, tailored to the individuals’ financial literacy, to our Operations North leaders.
Russell translated technical and financial concepts into easy-to-understand information for team leaders and customer operations managers, whilst helping tp build capability and upskill operations staff.
2021 Galaxy Team Award winner – Geraldton and Northampton Accommodation and Community Team (Claudia Fiddock, Vella Kuya, Nicole Taylor, Natasha Zasun and Amanda Martin Carabes)
The Geraldton and Northampton Accommodation and Community Team were awarded the 2021 Galaxy Team Award for the support they provided to Activ’s customers following cyclone Seroja. Several team members were required to remain on shift for extended periods of time (with one staff member supporting a customer for 33 hours), to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our customers.
With no phone, internet access or grocery shops, staff were creative in their approach to keeping customers calm, safe and entertained throughout the event, and truly put their customers first.
Activ would also like to congratulate all the nominees for the 2021 Stars and Galaxy Awards, who live and breathe our values day in and day out.
We are proud to have people like Sarah, Colin, Russell and the Geraldton and Northampton Accommodation and Community Team as staff members at Activ. If you’re a values-driven person looking to apply your skills and experience to make a difference to the lives of people with disability, we’d love to have you on our team. Check out our careers page to find the perfect role for you.