Richard Livingston Awards 2023
The Covernet team were delighted to attend the 2023 Richard Livingston Awards on Thursday 9th March at Ulster Rugby’s Kingspan Stadium. Launched in 2022, the Richard Livingston Awards is now an annual award celebration for staff across Prestige Insurance Holdings Group. Set up in memory of our treasured colleague and friend Richard Livingston, the awards celebrate employees from businesses across the Group who have progressed to enhance their Excellence in Professional Development and / or knowledge and leadership in the workplace.
The awards opened in January inviting employees across the Group to apply or nominate a colleague they believe are deserving of the award. There was a fantastic response with 10 applications / nominations being shortlisted for this prestigious award.
Following an independent judging process, with the panel being really impressed by the standard of each application, they were delighted to welcome all shortlisted candidates to a special recognition lunch award ceremony at Ulster Rugby’s Kingspan Stadium on Thursday 9th March, hosted by Trevor Shaw, Group CEO. Other guests included those who nominated a colleague, programme mentors and 2022’s Richard Livingston winner.
Richard Livingston’s wife Sarah kindly provided the following words of gratitude which we shared at the ceremony, ‘Richard was a strong advocate of lifelong learning, whether it be academic, vocational or for general interest and that he would be so proud that he is remembered in such a way’.
We were delighted to attend the celebration event and support our very own Gemma Laird, Senior Software Developer who was shortlisted for the award. Nominated by her colleague and Senior Manager Jenny Beattie, Gemma’s nomination was in recognition of her completion of the Cert CII examinations and passing the exams with her first attempt which led to her receiving the prestigious Peter Eakin award in May 2022 for finishing first place in Northern Ireland across all candidates for her year.
Last year, Gemma also received the Highly Commended accolade in the Young Person of the Year Category at the Digital DNA Awards. Gemma has successfully developed her learning and knowledge by completing her insurance qualifications and can demonstrate she understand the needs of clients, contributing greatly to the business. Gemma is described as a very good mentor for junior developers and spends a great deal of time with them to support their development. Gemma’s contributions to the business are appreciated by the Covernet management team and all of her colleagues.
During the ceremony, a summary of each of the shortlisted applications / nominations was presented to the audience and the winning entry was announced, bringing the event to a close.
The overall winner of the Richard Livingston 2023 winner is James O’Hara, Senior Manager, AbbeyAutoline! James was presented with their award by 2022’s winner, Carl McComb and Trevor Shaw.
The award ceremony was a wonderful event which celebrated all shortlisted nominees and highlighted their continuous hard work and dedication to their professional careers and team. Congratulations once again to Gemma and indeed to James O’Hara who took home the 2023 award.