Press Centre : Inspiring Women Winners PR

16^th May 2008

The prestigious Inspiring Women Awards honour remarkable women

There are truly inspiring women in the North West, many of whom go unrecognised and who do not realise how they become role models for others. It’s not often you get to hear in person the stories behind such heroines, often unsung, but this is what over 350 guests were treated to at a sell-out lunch in Manchester.

The 16th Inspiring Women Awards, in association with Britannia Building Society, once again proved that they are a unique way of celebrating the achievements of special women in our region, nominated by the public for going that extra mile.

At a prestigious celebrity lunch at the Midland Hotel on Friday 16^th May, four women picked up their Inspiring Women trophies:

a ‘public sector’ woman whose strong leadership and customer-focus has achieved so much within local government; an ‘arts’ woman who is an inspirational writer and producer of ground-breaking plays, reaching out to communities; a ‘business’ woman whose hard work, motivation and commitment to customers have been the driving force behind the success story of a building society; and a ‘community’ woman who, through personal tragedy, helps thousands of suicidal youngsters.

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Nominations were sought from the public for four women who had excelled in the North West from different walks of life – public sector, arts, business and community – women whom they felt were special and had made a difference to their lives and those of others. After judging, three finalists within each category were invited to attend the lunch and explain why they felt they had been nominated. There were some heart-rending moments at the lunch, with stories captured live on a BBC Radio Manchester broadcast.

It was a celebrity event, to which Cheshire Life and Lancashire Life magazines continue to be media partners. The Awards were broadcast live by BBC Radio Manchester, and four Salford City Reds rugby players graced the stage for the charity appeal for The Prince’s Trust which raised £4,500.

Founder and Award organiser, Jacqueline Hughes-Lundy, joint managing director of Inspiring Connections, says “for the past 16 years I have been reading the stories about the most amazing women imaginable and think each year that these achievements can’t be matched...but they are and in greater numbers. I hope that by recognising these women through the Inspiring Women Awards, we play some small part in encouraging others.”

Strong and enterprising leadership, combined with practical and very effective delivery, have led Donna Hall to a highly successful career in local government. In her two years as chief executive of Chorley Borough Council, Donna has had an immediate and visible impact. Recent awards gained by Chorley BC demonstrate her ability to lead and empower others effectively, and staff recently voted her 5^th top national executive in the country for inspirational leadership and inclusive style of management. Passionately committed to high quality public services, she has made a real difference to her ‘customers’ – under her guidance Chorley has bucked the national trend by increasing customer satisfaction by 14% in the last year and sickness has reduced by 3 days per employee.

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Claire Moore set up Certain Curtain Theatre in Preston nearly 20 years ago, passionate about encouraging new writing and producing issue-based plays. She is an amazing role model, inspiring young artists and writers and willingly offering support and advice. Claire uses theatre as a powerful tool for positive social change and revels in taking performance to the heart of communities. With tenacity, drive and great artistic flair, Claire has touched people’s hearts and minds, using ground-breaking plays to help educate and raise awareness of many subjects but especially domestic violence, writing and performing award-winning plays. She is immersed in the Arts in its widest sense – a writer, director, producer, actor, tour-organiser, budget planner and fundraiser!

When Karen McCormick took over as Cheshire Building Society’s chief executive in 2005, she was the first woman to take charge of a building society for a decade. They were troubled times for the mutual, including pre-tax losses for the first time in its 140 year old history, yet Karen has turned round the Society’s fortunes and handled adverse publicity well. She has a reputation for great business acumen combined with an open and honest management style. She demonstrates great people skills with employees and customers alike, and her personal values of honesty, integrity and transparency enable her to be practical, down-to-earth and highly regarded. With a very strong commitment to customer accountability, Karen is passionate about corporate social responsibility and building relationships with members and the community.

Anne Parry channelled the personal tragedy of her son’s suicide in 1994 into helping prevent other young deaths. With commitment, empathy and great hard work, she co-founded a self-help group and continues to be dedicated to preventing youngsters take their own lives. PAPYRUS is a voluntary UK charity committed to the prevention of young suicide and under her leadership, it has grown from a small group of bereaved parents to a national network. Anne has been instrumental in personally creating valuable resources: suicide prevention literature, a teacher’s pack, a DVD tackling school bullying, and a booklet for young offenders. Still enthusiastic and motivated, Anne

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is the impetus behind yet more projects: a resource pack for universities, a national helpline ‘HopeLine’, and new offices in Burnley.

The 2008 Awards were announced at a lunch on Friday 16^th May at The Midland Hotel in Manchester, compered by Trevor Hunt, Radio Manchester commentator, with the Awards presented by Danny Wallace, author, journalist and TV and radio presenter.

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Press enquiries: Lynne Arnold

01663 764050

07710 224 354

lynne@la-marketing.co.uk