Volunteers and staff from High Life Highland, who went above and beyond within their roles by “Making Life Better”, were recognised and celebrated at the 2023 i-care Awards ceremony held in Strathpeffer Pavilion on Thursday 9th November.
The ceremony was also broadcast live to those watching from the comfort of their homes thanks to the support of DP Digital Media.
This year’s staff awards were designed around High Life Highland’s new ‘Making Life Better’ charity proposition and ‘i-care’ people values: Integrity, Community, Accountability, Respect and Example.
In total, there were eight Award categories, four covering the i-care people values, as well as the following four: Volunteer of the Year Award, Public Nomination Award, Chairs’ Special Award, and the Employee/Team of the Year Award.
Volunteers and staff work together to bring the charity’s nine services (adult learning, archives, countryside rangers, leisure facilities, libraries, museums and galleries, music development, sports and youth work) to millions of local, national, and international visitors each year.
Compered by Nicola McAlley, the Awards ceremony saw volunteers and staff joined by invited partners and guests to celebrate the winners of each category.
The evening opened with remarks from High Life Highland’s Chief Executive Steve Walsh, and High Life Chairperson Mark Tate.
Nicola then presented 40 Long Service Awards to staff who have been serving High Life Highland’s charitable purposes for 20, 25, 30, 35, and up to 40 years.
The i-care Award winners were then presented in the following categories:
| Award | Winners |
| Integrity & Accountability | Elizabeth McDonald |
| Community Spirit | Jacob Green |
| Respect | Anna Holda |
| Example | The Libraries Outreach Team |
Guests were treated to three musical performances throughout the evening by two talented Highland Young Musicians and a group of High Life Highland’s own Music Instructors.
In order of play, the first Young Musician to perform was Andrew Thornton, who played ‘Fantasy for Trombone’ by James Curnow.
The next performance was by High Life Highland’s Young Musician of the Year 2023, Megan Fisher, who played ‘The Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite: Prelude’ by Paul Reade.
The final performance of the evening consisted of: Wee Michaels March (John McCusker), Leire’s Welcome to Cozac (Phil Cunningham), and Hurlock’s Reel (Tom Anderson).
The latter half of the i-care Awards were presented in the following categories:
| Award | Winners |
| Volunteer of the Year | Muir Morton Brian Kerr Justine Dunn Simon Evans |
| Public Nomination | Patricia Matthews |
| Trading Board Chair’s Special Award | Ben Nevis Visitor Centre |
| The Chair’s Special Award | Invergordon & Alness Leisure Centres |
Finally, ending on the high note of Employee/Team of the Year Award, which was chosen from one of the four winners of the i-care Awards.
Ultimately, this title was Awarded to Elizabeth McDonald, who was the most nominated colleague overall.
Opening the awards, Mark Tate, High Life Highland’s Chair, said: “The i-care Awards evening was a brilliant showcasing of High Life Highland’s people values: integrity, community spirit, accountability, respect and example-setting.
“The reason the i-care Awards exist is to celebrate the great successes that High Life Highland staff and volunteers achieve every day to make lives better for the people of the Highlands – and really, the nominees, shortlist, and winners only make up the tip of the iceberg!
“On behalf of the Board, I’d like to thank the Awards Organising Group for their efforts in bringing everyone together for what was a memorable evening, to everybody who joined us in the celebration both in-person and online, and of course to our deserving winners.”
Michael Golding, High Life Highland’s Vice Chair, added: “We all gathered at the Strathpeffer Pavilion to recognise and celebrate the incredible work that staff and volunteers of High Life Highland over the last 12 months to ‘make life better’ for residents of the Highlands.
“I couldn’t have been prouder or more humbled to be sharing the room with everyone who has contributed to making a difference to their Highland community, and to have heard the moving stories written into the many nominations for the evening.
“Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate their colleagues – you made it incredibly difficult for the panel of judges this year! Congratulations to all of the evening’s winners, with a special mention of our overall winner, Elizabeth McDonald.”
Steve Walsh, High Life Highland’s Chief Executive, concluded: “On behalf of High Life Highland, I am so pleased to announce that we had a record-number of nominations for this year’s new i-care Awards.
“This greatly reflects the dedication and commitment of our volunteers and staff as they work together to deliver our nine services in communities throughout the Highlands.
“It is fantastic to have this opportunity to celebrate the vital work of our volunteers and staff in maintaining High Life Highland services – without them our organisation would not be able to provide essential services to the Highland community.
“The 2023 i-care Awards would not have been possible without our partners and the generous sponsorship from High Life Highland’s partners, all of whom deserve a special thanks and our collective sincere gratitude.
“Huge thanks to our partners at the Strathpeffer Pavilion Community Trust, to our shareholder the Highland Council, to our overall sponsor for the event, Stagecoach, along with individual Award sponsors: Dynam, Haydock Music, Sport Max, and MacCallum Bagpipes.”
