Springboard’s Annual GEM Awards took place on Thursday 25th November at The Grand Hotel, Seaburn. The evening was hosted by Frankie Francis, from Frankie and The Heartstrings.
The Springboard GEM Awards pays tribute to the hard work of our learners, employers, staff and supporting partners.
Springboard aims to support the development of sustainable communities where people have the skills they need for work and life…and it’s that support and those people we celebrate at The GEM Awards. Staff, employers and most importantly, learners take their place in the limelight and receive deserved recognition for all their efforts.
Frankie Francis is a musician and broadcaster from Sunderland. His band Frankie & The Heartstrings have enjoyed international success and have recorded three critically acclaimed albums to date with chart success. Frankie has worked with award winning music producers like Bernard Butler and Edwyn Collins plus toured the globe extensively appearing many times on the festival circuit and in support of many household names such as Florence & The Machine, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Vaccines, The Cribs, Primal Scream and many more. Currently Frankie is enjoying a career in broadcasting with his own show weekdays on digital new music station Amazing Radio and the PA announcer at his beloved Sunderland AFC.
This year we had entertainment from Lee Shillito. Lee is our
Hospitality and Catering tutor here at Springboard. Alongside his successful career as a chef, he has also been a professional singer for the last ten years. He is a classically trained opera singer. He has performed in Phantom of the Opera, various pantomimes, weddings and funerals, and has also worked alongside Opera Sunderland.
The winners and runner ups can be seen below:
Employer of the Year
Winner: St Marks Nursing Home
Runner Up: Team RH Fitness
Employer Nominated Learner of the Year:
Winner: Kairo Pearson
Runner Up: Nathan Collier
Supporting Partner of the Year:
Winner: Debut Design
Runner Up: Southmoor Academy
Apprentice of the Year:
Winner: Rebecca Casey
Runner Up: Faith Hall
Staff Member of the Year
Winner: Andrea Thompson
Runner Up: Peter Raine
Northumbria Police Community Hero Award
The Community Hero award is designed to give reward and recognition to persons who are examples of outstanding kindness, inspiration and positivity within the local community.
Winner: Gary Stubbs
Volunteer of the Year
Winner: Thomas Stanness
Runner Ups: Kieron Garthwaite and Lucy Cadman
Kickstarter of the Year
Winner: Ren Nkomo
Study Programme Learner of the Year
Winner: Lewis Currer
Runner Up: Katrina Anderson
Social Enterprise/Durham Works Learner
Winner: Leon Bates
Runner Up: Katie Robinson
Adult of the Year
Winner: Kelly Bushell
Runner Up: Ebony Reeves
Maths and English Learner of the Year
Winner: Courtney Thirkle
Runner Up: Tye Wandless
Springboard Futures Learner of the Year, this award is in memory of Gary Stubbs
Winner: Sean Hutchinson
Overall Learner of the Year
Winner: Adam Bell
Runner Up: Alicia Bywater
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