As the Platinum sponsor of the Control Room Awards for the third-consecutive year, Telent is delighted to confirm that the finalists for 2020 have been announced – recognising the outstanding work delivered by those working in emergency services control rooms.
The 2020 awards have attracted more than 380 nominations from over 80 different emergency service organisations. Across the 11 categories, in excess of 400 unsung heroes will be recognised for their vital work in control rooms and across public safety organisations.
The 11 award categories include; Award for Services to the Public; Control Room Ambassador of the Year; Control Room Call Taker of the Year; Control Room Dispatcher of the Year; Community Champion; Leader of the Year; Special Recognition Award for Bravery and Courage; Team of the Year and Young Achiever of the Year.
The awards, run by APD Communications - which develops critical, life-saving software used by the police and other emergency services organisations across the country - will highlight the stories of unsung heroes across the United Kingdom and Ireland that help Police, Fire, Ambulance and other safety services to save lives. Whilst the efforts of those in control rooms are often less visible, the awards aim to remind people of the teams the emergency services could not function without.
500 Badges of honour have also been sent to those who submitted an entry to the awards.
“The response to this year’s Control Room Awards has been phenomenal. After working through 358 pages of nominations and 927,541 of words about unsung heroes, I can honestly say that this year has been the best yet for nominations – highlighting the exceptional and selfless contributions that workers in emergency services and critical control rooms make every day for the public,” said Barry Zielinski as Operations and Service Director at Telent.
Acknowledging outstanding achievement and contribution to the emergency services or another critical public service, the shortlist for the Lifetime Achievement award has also been released. As the most prestigious award of the night, the winner of the award will have shown outstanding leadership and passion within their work.
In addition to Telent being a platinum sponsor of the event, Barry Zielinski will also join the judging panel at the annual APD Control Room Awards 2020. Zielinski will be accompanied by judges; Teri Seaber, former Group Commander, Combined Fire Control of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Services; Chris Dreyfus-Gibson, Vice Chairman at International Critical Control Rooms Alliance; Ian Thompson, CEO at BAPCO; Mike Isherwood, Managing Director at APD Communications and Sue Noyes, Chair of the National Ambulance Staff Charity and Former Chief Executive of East Midlands Ambulance Service.
“I look forward to meeting with this year’s finalists at the APD Control Room Awards, where we will reward the work they put in behind the scenes and out of sight of the blue lights, that they so rightly deserve,” added Barry.
The winners of this year’s APD Control Rooms Awards will be revealed on the 5th of March at Jury’s Inn Hinckley Island, Leicestershire. The complete list of finalists are:
Control Room Call Taker of the Year
- Neil Botting, Gloucestershire Constabulary
- Tracy Brindley, North West Fire Control
- Helen Collier, Avon and Somerset Police
Control Room Dispatcher of the Year
- Patricia Gribbin, Police Scotland
- Chris Howe, Northumbria Police
- Carmel Sharkey, National Ambulance Service of Ireland
Leader of the Year
- Christopher Gooch, Metropolitan Police
- Carly Pointon, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Becky Tipper, Avon and Somerset Police
The Award for Services to the Public, sponsored by Telent
- Fiona Hannah and Fiona Price, Scottish Fire and Rescue
- Paula Holden, Merseyside Police
- Gail Oliver, Durham Constabulary
Special Recognition Award for Bravery and Courage
- Rebecca Garner, Humberside Police
- Martin Lonsdale, North East Ambulance Service
- Nicky Lopez, North West Ambulance Service
Team of the Year
- Blue Watch (Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre), Maritime and Coastguard Agency
- Norwich AOC Team 1, East of England Ambulance Service
- South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Control Team
Young Achiever of the Year
- Hannah Bird, Maritime and Coastguard Agency
- Jabeen Khattak, Kent Police
- Liam Mattin, Essex Police
The Community Champion Award
- Jo Sampson, Avon and Somerset Police
- David Wall, Police Scotland
- Rebekka Wheatley, Scottish Ambulance Service
The John Gilhooly Unsung Hero Award
- Simon Hardware, Kent Police
- Carol Pask, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue
- Rich Weaver, Devon and Cornwall Police
The Lifetime Achievement Award
- Tony Bond, Welsh Ambulance Service
- Carol Norfolk, Kent Police
- Lorraine Smith, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
Control Room Ambassador of the Year
- Andrea Ginns, Leicestershire Police
- Ashleigh Spriggs, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue
- Dale Wilson, West Yorkshire Police
For further information on the Control Room Awards visit https://www.controlroomawards.com/