Central England Co-operative celebrates its stars at its Leading Brilliance Awards

Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 18/10/2016


On Thursday 29 September, Central England Co-operative recognised its star performers with an evening of celebration at its dazzling Leading Brilliance Awards at The Hyatt Regency in Birmingham.

The evening celebrated colleagues who have been recognised for delivering outstanding service and commitment to the Society’s customers, and who make a real difference to peoples’ lives in the local community.


Chief Executive Martyn Cheatle commented: “I am always extremely proud to recognise the achievements of our colleagues and it was great to see spend the evening with everyone at our recent Leading Brilliance Awards.

“Every colleague throughout the Society plays an important role in our success, and this can be no greater represented than winning Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 for the second time in three years.”

The following stars shone the brightest;
•         Apprentice of the Year – Curtis Wright (Warehouse Operative, Food Distribution Centre)
•         Learner of the Year – Rhianne McLean (Team Leader, Castle Park Retail Food Store)
•         Bloom Award – Angela Corey (Funeral Administrator, Harborne Funeral Home)
•         Charity Advocate – Paul Murray (Store Manager, Long Street Atherstone Retail Food Store)
•         Community Advocate – Susan Carty and June Jones (Team Leader / Florist, Great Barr Floral)
•         Support Team of the Year – IS Team (based at the Business Support Centre)
•         Trading Team of the Year – Countesthorpe (Retail Food Team) 
•         Leader of the Year – Glenn Barsby (Operations Manager, Retail Food)
•         Colleague of the Year – Julie Paulson (Customer Service Assistant, Ripley Retail Food Store)

Let’s hear from the Stars…

Glenn Barsby, Leader of the Year, commented: “Central England Co-operative invested in my personal development and I went through the Society’s Effective Leadership Programme in 2013-14.  This helped me look at leadership from a different perspective and I have a fantastic line manager who fully supported me.

“As with all businesses, we have a strategy, budgets and business plans, but the most important part is engaging our colleagues in the future we want and delivering fantastic results. I spend time with my managers on the future they want and coach them on how to get there. I hope I can inspire other colleagues to follow in my footsteps.

“I started working at Central England Co-operative in 1997 as a Customer Service Assistant and worked my way up to Operations Manager. It doesn’t just happen by accident, it takes a lot of hard work, but also from people in the business seeing my potential and giving me the opportunities and challenges over the last two decades to help me achieve my ambition.”

Julie Paulson, Colleague of the Year, said: “I was shocked to win Colleague of the Year, but at the same time really excited and pleased. I have worked at Ripley Food Store for two years and I have shopped at the store since I was little. I love my job as I get to interact with our members and customers on a regular basis.

“Over a short period of time, I engaged over 1,000 customers and signed them up to Central England Co-operative membership and I plan on doing more of this in the coming months.”

Angela Corey, Bloom Award, said: “I was extremely happy to be nominated for the award and then I won it and I was bowled over! As part of the Society’s Bloom programme, which encourages colleagues, members and customers to lead a healthy lifestyle, I send weekly emails to promote wellness and positively to my fellow colleagues in our funeral business, as our roles can be extremely hard sometimes and I knew I could offer guidance and support. 

“To be recognised for my achievements is fantastic and the Leading Brilliance Awards night was great. I am very proud of my Bloom Award.”

Let’s hear from their Managers…

Mark Pickerill, Group Manager and Glenn’s Manager, said: “I am very proud of Glenn because every day he displays the leadership values of our Society and makes sure that his moments that matter deliver positive impacts on everyone he meets.”

Gavin Glidewell, Ripley Store Manager and Julie’s Manager, said: “I am proud of Julie because of her passion and enthusiasm. Julie’s efforts to drive membership in Ripley went over and above expectations. She has the natural ability to engage with people and always urges customers to become members.”

Birte Stark, Funeral Director and Angela’s Manager, said: “Angela cares very deeply about all the families she looks after and, equally, cares about the welfare of her fellow colleagues. Angela is passionate about supporting her colleagues in their roles working with bereaved families, and her ability to care for others has led her to producing a weekly newsletter for her colleagues.”


Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative


Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with projected gross sales of £958million for 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property. Central England Co-operative has more than 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2016/17.

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

Rob Smyth / Jo Baldock at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop