Published: Wednesday, 30th January 2019
Thirty-eight staff have between them served the council and therefore the local community for a total of 620 years.
Certificates were presented at a special ceremony at King's Lynn Town Hall on 30 January 2019 by the Mayor Cllr Nick Daubney, and the Leader for the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk, Cllr Brian Long.
Introducing the event, Cllr Long said: "Irrespective of the roles people have in the council from chief executive, to grounds staff, housing staff to ICT, every member of staff is valued and the work they do is vital. The council just wouldn't function without them. When I see the years of service, dedication and commitment that our staff have given, I feel privileged and proud to be involved in recognising their efforts and achievements. Congratulations to all who received awards today."
This year 20 awards for 10 years' service, 12 awards for 20 years' service and 6 awards for 30 years service have been presented.
Ten year award recipient, Nikki Patton, Housing Strategy Manager, said: "The role of the housing team has changed massively in the 10 years that I have been with the authority. It is always challenging and there is never a dull moment. The role has become much more involved and there is an ever-increasing demand to secure affordable housing, and to meet general housing need.
"There are two things that have kept me going and that's the commitment of the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk to get behind projects and initiatives that will have an impact locally, and the enthusiastic and hardworking people that I work with, who just come together as a team and make it easier to find solutions to the problems we face. "
Twenty year award recipient, Lewis Hemeter, Lynnsport Manager, said: "Within my 20 years' service, I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with some wonderful people from all walks of life.
"I am privileged to hold a position within the authority, which means I can positively contribute towards improving people's health and wellbeing through providing high quality leisure facilities and activities.
"As an employer the borough council has always offered me the support, guidance and training I need to help me progress and continually improve within my roles and responsibilities.”
Thirty year award recipient, Debbie Ess, Policy and Performance Assistant, said: "Who would have guessed that when my parents encouraged me to apply for a position at the council all those years ago, that 30 years on I would still be here. My first role was calculating the weekly bonus for some of our employees which involved being organised and working to extremely tight deadlines. Skills that have stuck with me and are still as relevant today.
"In 1988, our desks were cluttered with large chunky items of office equipment, the ladies needed to have BIG hair, all décor was brown and it still amazes me that staff were allowed to smoke in the office surrounded by paper!! Thank goodness times have changed.
"Over the past 30 years I have been fortunate to work with many great teams across all service areas of the council and gained some very good friends along the way."
Ray Harding, Chief Executive, added: "Working in local government has become increasingly challenging over the years. Since 2009 we have been faced with austerity and its accompanying reduction in budgets and funding. Throughout that time, staff have continued to be creative and innovative in their work, enabling us to achieve more, to deliver improved services, all with less resources. I personally want to thank all our staff for the incredibly hard work they do to serve our local community."