My First Heroic Person

Leaders in any sector spend a great deal of time talking about policy and strategy. We talk about our business plans and our budgets, as well as our visions and mission statements. Of course, all of these things are really important. But in my experience, it is the extraordinary people that work in our sector, who do fantastic work for our customers, who make the real difference. Over the course of my Presidential year, I want to recognise as many of these people as possible.

My first heroic person is Jenny Hackworth from Weymouth and Portland Housing. Jenny cleans in a sheltered scheme first thing in the morning and then cooks for over 50 people, with everything cooked freshly and to a very high quality each day. She gets up at 5.15 every morning to get two busses to work and she has done this for 10 years.

Now, while all of this is impressive, it is not this that was highlighted by her colleagues. Recently the people who provided meals at another sheltered scheme in her area pulled out at short notice and rather than see residents going without a meal she doubled her capacity of lunches, despite working from a tiny kitchen. She did this with a smile, despite the fact that she faces redundancy next year, as the Supporting People contract for her work is not being renewed. Jenny is an extraordinary person and it was my huge pleasure to present Jenny with a certificate and flowers to recognise her fantastic work at my Presidential Dinner on 25 September 2008.

Do you have any suggestions for ?heroic people? like Jenny, who are really making the difference to tenants and residents everyday? Send your ideas to president@cih.org