Housing charity LACE Housing celebrated the achievements of staff and volunteers at its 18^th annual awards evening.

Certificates and trophies were presented to seven winners who have demonstrated their outstanding contribution to the association during a ceremony held at the Bentley Hotel in South Hykeham on Friday (1^st December).

Nick Chambers, Chief Executive of LACE Housing, said: “Our awards evening is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our loyal and hard-working staff, volunteers and Friends of LACE Housing.

“All the finalists were nominated by residents and staff, so everyone who has been put forward for an award should feel very proud of themselves. This year we received over 100 nominations, and I was pleased to see so many members of our team in attendance, supporting one another.”

Scott Studd, who volunteers at Olsen Court in Lincoln, was announced as the winner in the Age UK Lincoln and Kesteven Volunteer of the Year category, while Di Williamson, Support Co-ordinator at Worth Court in Bourne, took home the Shooting Star Customer Service Award.

A trophy for excellence, sponsored by Investors in Excellence, was taken home by Housing and Support Officer Hazel Ashmore, and the Lindum Best Team Award went to Tracey Warren and Michelle Cook from Brick Kiln Place.

Steve Gibson from category sponsors Greetwell Purchasing Solutions presented the Outstanding Contribution Award to Director of Finance Kevin White, who collected the award on behalf of Finance Assistant Lucy Dickenson-Fogg.

The final special awards announced on the night were the Contractor of the Year, presented to Stewart Austin by Nick Chambers, and the Board of Management Award which was given to the Property and Grounds Maintenance team by LACE Housing Chairman Allen Horne.

In addition to the special awards, more than 20 staff, volunteers and Friends of LACE Housing were presented with certificates to commemorate their service and continued support for the not-for-profit organisation, which provides housing and support services for older people in Lincolnshire.

Among those honoured was David Brown, who began volunteering with LACE Housing 18 years ago. After initially dedicating a couple of hours of his time each week to the organisation, he quickly found himself employed part-time as one of the maintenance team.

David, who now works full-time as the Maintenance Supervisor for all 10 LACE Housing sites, explained: “I’m fortunate enough to be supported by a brilliant team, and it’s always great to get together at the annual presentation evening to celebrate our hard work.”

During the ceremony, Nick reflected upon the association’s achievements over the last 12 months, which include the official opening of Chapman Court in Skegness and the launch of the ‘Ideas for Change 2017: Extra Care Housing in Lincolnshire’ report, in association with the University of Lincoln.

Following a year of fundraising activities, Nick also presented a cheque for £4,469.43 to Sarah Whattam from LACE Housing’s 2017 charity of the year the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

He then went on to announce LIVES, a charity which supports emergency first responders, as the organisation’s chosen charity for 2018.