Bus drivers and colleagues honoured at Long Service Awards

Bus drivers, engineers and employees from across the East Midlands have been honoured at a special celebration evening at Lincolnshire Showground.

The Long Service Awards, organised by Stagecoach East Midlands, celebrate and recognise past and present staff who have reached impressive milestones in their careers.

An array of awards for long service and special contributions to the company were announced at the event, on Saturday October 30. Employees with more than 870 years service between them were recognised for their achievements. With staff receiving awards for their service ranging from 20 years up to 45 years, the event was an opportunity to thank them and celebrate these milestones with them.

A number of recent retirees also attended the event, and they were thanked for their commitment to the business.

Colleagues from depots and offices in Grimsby, Lincoln, Hull, Skegness, Mansfield, Scunthorpe and Worksop gathered for the awards.

The event provided an opportunity to give out some special awards to recognise colleagues for outstanding service. Included in this category was Gary McArthur and Paul Hodges from the Lincoln depot, Grimsby colleagues Dave McMullan, Kim Whitehead and Nick Fletcher and Leighann Robbins from Mansfield, who continued the company’s charity fundraising activities for our charity partner, Macmillan, despite the additional challenges of working during the pandemic.

Teams from Grimsby, Hull, Mansfield and Head Office were also invited on stage to receive recognition for their hard work in launching and running the dedicated NHS shuttle buses during the pandemic, which provided key NHS workers with dedicated bus services for commutes to hospital. Those present

were also asked to take a few moments to remember colleagues who have passed away over the last year.

Key company figures were in attendance at the ceremony, including Stagecoach East Midlands’ Managing Director Matt Cranwell, previous Managing Director Michelle Hargreaves, now Stagecoach’s Regional Director for the North Region. They were joined by Gill Ayre, representing charity partner Macmillan.

Matt Cranwell said: “I am incredibly proud of the loyalty, commitment and dedication shown by our staff over the last few years and it was fantastic to be able to honour our long serving colleagues as well as those who have demonstrated exceptional service to the company at this event.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought some major challenges and pressures to those working in the transport industry, but the hard work, professionalism and resourcefulness of our staff has shone through and I am exceptionally grateful to our teams for pulling together to maintain essential services, keep people connected and stay positive in dark times.

“As we begin to emerge into a brighter future, we will continue to all work together to keep the East Midlands moving and support local communities.”

The ceremony was hosted by BBC radio presenter David Sheppard and offered an evening of dancing, entertainment and celebration.