Celebrating our ACT winners and the power of giving at The Ardonagh Group Spotlight Awards
In July, the c. 10,000 Ardonagh community came together to recognise colleagues who have gone above and beyond at the annual Spotlight event.
This year’s much anticipated event took place at the prestigious Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The night saw 400 colleagues travel from across the Group and around the world, including Australia, Greece, Ireland and Brazil, to see who would be win the sought-after awards.
One of the 10 categories is the ACT Award, which recognises the individuals and teams across Ardonagh who give back to communities close to their heart. It celebrates those people who quietly and humbly make a big impact, making a difference to the people and world around them.
The award is in memory of Andy Coles, former Managing Director of Lutine and Employee Representative to the ACT board. As a strong advocate of ACT and charitable endeavours, including the Ride4Life charity cycle event, Andy was committed to giving back and supporting causes in need and this award recognises that philanthropic spirit in others. In this spirit, the ACT Award goes to people who never give up giving back and inspire others to follow their lead with generosity and humility – just like Andy.
As with the other award categories, we were overwhelmed by all the nominations put forward and as ever, it was an incredibly tough decision for our ACT Trustees to select the winner from the five finalists.
After much deliberation by the ACT Trustees, we are delighted that the ACT Award 2023 was given to not one but two fantastic colleagues who epitomise the spirit of the category and presented by Derek Coles, ACT Trustee, CEO of Retail MGA – and Andy’s brother.
Helen Williams
Helen is the at the soul of the Geo Agriculture business. Time and time again, she has organised charity events and fundraising feats within the office and the team and always with a smile.
Kamran Khan
Kamran is involved in all manner of community causes and charities – both within the Atlanta business and in his local community. He’s a passionate advocate of young people and mental health and has been involved in setting up wellbeing support groups and getting Atlanta colleagues involved in charity sporting events.
We also congratulate their fellow finalists…
Robus Gibraltar Charity Committee
The committee was established in 2021 by just four colleagues, whose community spirit and relentless ambition have raised in that time over £16,000 for a range of charities. In true Ardonagh fashion, they’ve completed several fundraising challenges along the way, including scaling the Rock of Gibraltar five times to raise money.
Atlanta Our Origins Committee
Every member of the Our Origins committee believes and takes action to champion diversity and inclusion within and beyond the workplace. They are firm allies and hosted their very first Break the Bias event to improve outcomes for minority ethnic colleagues and advocate positive change.
Towergate Manchester office
Towergate Manchester embody team spirit. In 2022, not only did they come together as colleagues, they also joined with businesses in the building in support of the local Christie hospital to raise funds in memory of a dear colleague. They are always looking for new ways to give back and support one another.
In celebration, ACT has made a donation of £1,000 to each of our fantastic ACT Spotlight finalists towards their charity of choice, as an extra nod of appreciation. We are delighted to have had the chance to support:
- My Shining Star
- Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF)
- The Coppice Community Hub
- Clarksfield & Glodwick FC
- ADNA, Association for the Rights of Abandoned Animals
- The Gibraltar Alzheimer’s and Dementia Society
- Dorset Children's Foundation
- Duquesa Charitable Society of St George
- Manchester Refugee Support Network
- Bury Hospice
- CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserable)
We can’t wait to see who the heroes of 2023 will prove to be when Spotlight returns next year…
