Greetings to all blog readers. I've been off line for a bit with lots going on but little to report. As always though in Somerset Care there is much activity in all areas. May 2011 will be remembered as the month of our move into our magnificent new Croft House. This has gone very well and all our residents have now settled in to their new rooms and surroundings. See my previous post.
However yesterday was a very special day so it's time for an update. For me it was particularly significant as it was the 10th Anniversary of the start of my time as CEO of the Somerset Care Group. I was reflecting on an amazing decade and what has without doubt been the most enjoyable, stimulating and rewarding period of my career to date. It's not over yet!
Somerset Care is a wonderful organization and I feel a great sense of pride and privilege in having been given the opportunity to steer the Group through the second decade of it's existence. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our staff, managers and directors the Group now enjoys an enviable reputation. We have made tremendous progress in so many ways in building the business, developing people and teams, and in delivering services that continually improve in the never ending quest for the highest quality and professionalism in everything we do. We are a people business and it is the people we are privileged to serve who are, and always will be, our first priority.
So it was in a reflective mood that I set off for the Royal Bath and West Show at Shepton Mallet where I was able to spend some time on the Somerset Care stand with our stars of the show Kim Wilson, Hannah Rowe and Jason Shaw.
We welcomed many visitors to the stand including present and former staff members and a number of relatives of people who had lived or are living in our homes or for whom we provide support in the community. Without exception they were all highly complimentary about the quality of our services.
Jason was demonstrating our own technology solution for older and disabled people - "The Easy PC". It attracted a lot of interest.
The highlight and main purpose of our day at the show was the public launch of our new book of 20 life stories of "Somerset Centenarians". This is our first venture into book publishing and it is our way of marking the first 20 years of Somerset Care.
The book has been brilliantly written by Kalina Newman and it includes wonderful portrait photos of our ladies and gentlemen taken by nationally renowned photographer Anita Corbin. Let me introduce you to two of our stars:
Mabel Stuckey and
Minnie Taylor.
Three of our centenarians joined us at the show for the launch. This included live interviews on BBC Radio Somerset.
Front of picture with the team from the BBC are: left to right - Carol Mohide, Manager of Fletcher House, Hilda Goulding (102) and yours truly. This was followed by a welcome tea break for Hilda in the WI Tea Tent.
Then came the highlight of the day when we were honoured to be joined by HRH The Countess of Wessex. Kalina and I presented her with a copy of our book.
She then spent time chatting with our centenarians before posing for this photo.
Back row left to right are Kalina, HRH, Ann Starr (Ivy's daughter) and me. In front are Hilda Goulding (102) from Fletcher House, Ivy Springham (100) from Greenhill House and Alice Hansford (101) from Southlawns.
So a truly memorable day. Do please now get your hands on a copy of this beautiful book about our wonderful "Somerset Centenarians". It is available on line from Amazon or Waterstones. It is in bookshops throughout Somerset or it can be ordered through the Somerset Care website at www.somersetcare.co.uk.
Location:Shepton Mallet
