The winners of the Ryman Awards 2022 were unveiled last night, with Malvina Major scooping the village of the year title and clinical leader Jeannie Sales taking the Kevin Hickman award.
Finalists and their supporters gathered in person in Christchurch and online via a live stream to nervously await the announcements.
Announcing the winner of the village of the year, NZ CEO Cheyne Chalmers said Malvina Major was a deserving winner for managing to come through COVID with excellent results.
Situated on a stunning site in Khandallah, Malvina Major is 23 years young and came top of the pops thanks to the hard work of the team lead by village manager Albie Calope.
The village maintained strong occupancy levels and consistently receives great feedback from residents and families about the care provided by the wonderful team, Cheyne said.
Albie said the award reflected the hard work and commitment of the whole team.
“If you want to achieve great things you have to work hard and surround yourself with the right people.
“Thank you to the whole magnificent Malvina Major team,’’ Albie said.
The finalists were Jane Winstone in Whanganui and Jean Sandel in New Plymouth.
Jeannie Sales, clinical manager at Anthony Wilding in Christchurch, won the 2022 Kevin Hickman award.
The award goes each year to the person at Ryman who best demonstrates Kevin’s founding values of kindness, excellence, leadership and care.
The nominees are role models to their teammates.
Jeannie was praised by her colleagues for her professionalism and care, always going the extra mile for her residents.
Jannie thanked her family, her managers and the team at Anthony Wilding, which was her second home.
She said the award was all about her residents and it reflected a great set of values.
“I think we should all strive to keep the Kevin Hickman values alive,’’ she said.
The other finalists were Rebecca McClelland, accounts payable manager at Ryman Christchurch and Sam Manson, special care unit coordinator at Hilda Ross in Hamilton.
Caregiver of the year award went to Nancy Wilson from Diana Isaac Village in Christchurch.
Nancy has worked for Ryman since 2006 and was one of the first caregivers to come to New Zealand under the migrant scheme for health care workers. Nancy was described as one of life's gems, no matter how demanding work gets, or how many hours Nancy works her standard of care never changes.
The other finalists in the category were Anna Brayshaw from Charles Brownlow in Geelong and Jenny Pasiol from Edmund Hillary in Auckland.
Support team member of the year award went to Nicholas Parker, lead maintenance at Essie Summers.
He was recognised for his work ethic, his unrelenting willingness to help and ability to work under pressure. He is known around the village as a superhero.
The other support team finalists were Mark Cooley, senior business systems analyst at Ryman Christchurch, and Meagan Spicer, resident services manager at John Flynn in Melbourne.
Young achiever of the year award went to Con Van Neikerk, resident services manager at William Sanders in Auckland.
Con was praised for making huge sacrifices to support villages on both sides of the Tasman. She even left her partner Auckland and spent five weeks at Nellie Melba in Melbourne supporting the team through a really challenging period.
The other young achiever finalists were Shanlee Barnes-Webber, serviced apartment coordinator at Diana Isaac in Christchurch, and Vincent Ngawini, dining assistant at Edmund Hillary in Auckland.
The construction team member of the year award went to Brett Johnson, site manager at Deborah Cheetham in Ocean Grove.
Brett answered the call and stepped up into the leadership role at Charles Brownlow site and kept the ship on course this year. In this role he showed both great leadership and willingness to achieve excellence.
The other finalists were Ian Lee from Miriam Corban in Auckland and Natasha Richardson, health and safety coordinator at Ryman Christchurch.
Sales advisor of the year was David de Veth from Linda Jones in Hamilton.
David’s charismatic personality, attention to detail, planning and preparation, secured him a permanent position at the top of the sales team performers.
The other finalists were Kay Murdoch, sales advisor at Weary Dunlop in Melbourne and Tracy Blackadder, sales advisor at Charles Upham in Rangiora.
The nurse of the year award went to John Gela from Evelyn Page in Orewa.
John started as a caregiver before moving into a Registered Nurse role and is a great example of the Ryman “grow your own” philosophy.
He is known as a great entertainer and can often be heard singing to his residents. John is known to turn up in different places at the village – he regularly picked up shifts when the team is short.
The finalists were Charlene Tabigne from Hilda Ross in Hamilton and Kirstin Murdoch from Julia Wallace in Palmerston North.
The health safety and wellbeing award went to Katie Longden, HR team leader projects, health, safety and wellbeing in Christchurch.
Katie’s work supporting injury management and return to work plans often flies under the radar but it’s extremely important for team members if they are ever injured. Many of you will know her as a wellbeing champion and she is constantly thinking of exciting new ways she can create engagement and participation in wellbeing initiatives.
The finalists were Frank Ryan, health and safety advisor at Highett in Melbourne and Mary Petersen, housekeeper and health and safety representative from Jane Winston in Whangarei.
Construction site of the year award went to Raelene Boyle in Melbourne.
Known as the COVID-baby, the site kicked off in early 2020 and powered through the worst of the pandemic and all the restrictions to be officially completed last month.
The other finalists were Deborah Cheetham in Ocean Grove and Keith Park in Auckland.
Leader of the year award went to Charisse Spence, village manager at Deborah Cheetham in Ocean Grove.
Charisse was praised as a real team player; she made the commitment to travel from her home to lead the Nellie Melba team through the Omicron outbreak earlier this year while still running her own village. She empowers her team to take ownership of their roles and gives them the opportunity to excel at what they do best.
The finalists in the award were Simon Richards, project manager at Keith Park in Auckland and Steve Wakeman, village manager at Rowena Jackson in Invercargill.
