Over 150 staff and guests gathered last Wednesday for the glittering annual Vets Now MAD (Make a Difference) Awards ceremony which took place at the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate, kicking off the two day Emergency and Critical Care 6th Vets Now Annual Congress.

The awards which celebrate individual dedication and achievement, with a separate team award for excellence and a new award for long standing achievement were presented by Vets Now's founder and Group Managing Director, Richard Dixon who commented; "The MAD Awards are an opportunity for staff to nominate one of their peers who they feel really has made a difference within the Vets Now team and beyond. The passion and commitment shown by Vets Now staff are what makes our team truly special and this ceremony is an opportunity to celebrate the dedication, achievements and the amazing efforts of the fantastic team we have here at Vets Now."

This is the third MAD Awards ceremony and the event has grown each year, attracting a record number of nominations this year for each of the seven categories with a steady flow of nominations coming in over the past few months.

The difficult task of picking a winner for each of the categories was down to the members of the Judging Panel - Paul Imrie, Editor of the Veterinary Times, Gary Stamp and Jen Devey (speakers at our Vets Now Congress - from the US), Wendy Busby Vets Now's Head of Clinical Development and Andrew Penker, Vets Now's Head of HR.

The category for 'Team of Stars' was shortlisted to three nominations and the voting then opened up online to Vets Now staff to pick their team of the year.

The winners of each category are as follows:

• Star Veterinary Surgeon of the Year Award, Shaun Taylor - Nottingham
• Star Senior Veterinary Surgeon of the Year Award, Candice Buchanan - Coventry
• Star Veterinary Nurse of the Year Award, Rachael Marshall - Bradford/Sheffield
• Star Senior Veterinary Nurse of the Year Award, Sam Aldridge - Winchester
• Star Receptionist of the Year Award, Pam Bowman - Gateshead
• Support Team Star of the Year Award, Stan Bendowksi, Client Care Officer
• Team of Stars Award, Liverpool
• Vets Now Photograph of the Year, Victoria Cairnduff, Receptionist, Belfast

The winners of each 'job role' category walked away with £200 of Love to Shop vouchers (and star trophy!), a bronze recognition pin and certificate was awarded to all our 5 Year Length of Service Award winners and £250 of Love to Shop vouchers were presented to the winner of the Vets Now Photograph of the Year winner, Victoria Carinduff, whose brilliant picture of her German Shepherd cross Harley playing Mum to a tiny orphaned kitten shone through as a perfect example of the Vets Now passion and dedication to our work (and the support of the extended Vets Now family)!