Heroes Walk Amongst Us: The Winners Of The Roadchef Everyday Hero Awards 2024

You know the sites, you know the brands we work with, but do you know the people who work for Roadchef and some of their incredible stories? Read on!

We're thrilled to bring you the highlights of the recent Everyday Hero Awards, a spectacular event on Tuesday, March 5th. Sponsored by our valuable partners, this event was a celebration of extraordinary individuals who truly live our core Roadchef values of Caring, Uncomplicated, and Positively Obsessive- whether behind a counter, at a desk, or on the road!

Let's dive into the heartwarming stories of our incredible winners.

1. Jon Bateman - Support Office Person of the Year - Sponsored by Ogilvie Fleet

Jon Bateman's dedication and leadership shone brightly, earning him the Support Office Person of the Year Award. His contributions to operational excellence in the South East have driven improvements in customer satisfaction. He has also spearheaded internal people development initiatives, a truly inspiring effort.

Runners-up in this category included Claire Hindley for her constant support for the site teams, Kim Yip for his passion for supporting his team’s development and pushing McDonald’s team members to be the best they can be, Palminder Soomal for his constant support for new managers and Stuart Glover for his outstanding work across multiple new and existing initiatives.

2. Sarah Phillips - Caring Hero of the Year - Sponsored by SilentNight

Sarah Phillips, from Clacket Lane, captured our hearts with her selfless act of heroism. When called upon to assist a pregnant lady in labour, Sarah's calm demeanour and quick thinking helped deliver baby Bella Rose safely. Her compassion and bravery embody the spirit of a true hero.

This was a toughly contested category, with the two runners-up having incredible stories of their own.

Matthew Tuttle is 1st Assistant Manager at our Durham McDonald’s and, after a customer sadly passed away, Matthew supported the family of the individual as well as all members of the coach party that the individual arrived on. It wasn’t the first time Matthew had been called upon to administer first aid in the last twelve months either; having performed CPR just two months earlier.

Carla Silva, who is celebrating two decades at Maidstone, stepped in as translator when a Portuguese HGV came into the site injured. Carla translated for on-site first aider Adam, before supporting the paramedics to understand the driver's injuries. Carla then went above and beyond, collecting the HGV Driver from hospital to return to his vehicle.

Our teams truly care about every individual that visits their site and many more of our colleagues could have been nominated in this category - our judges found it incredibly hard to choose just three!

3. Ramona Gardner - Uncomplicated Hero of the Year - Sponsored by Artisan Contracts

Ramona Gardner's innovative approach to simplifying processes earned her the title of Uncomplicated Hero of the Year. Her initiative in streamlining the cash loss process not only saved time but also significantly reduced losses.

Another pair of fantastic Uncomplicated Heroes just missed out scooping the prize for themselves, with Strensham’s Carla Thomas and Norton Canes’ Tayla Owen finishing runner’s up for their work on Health and Safety archiving and inventory management respectively.

4. Leon Nowall - Positively Obsessed Hero of the Year - Sponsored by Group Nexus

Age is just a number for 80-year-old Leon Nowall, who radiates positivity and dedication in his role. If you’ve been to Chester, you’ll have met Leon!

His commitment to enhancing the customer experience and delivering exceptional service is truly remarkable. Leon is a shining example of passion and enthusiasm at any age.

Just missing out on the Positively Obsessed Hero of the Year award was Julie Clifton at Norton Canes who stepped up to support the new manager to launch our Coco Di Mama unit and Stuart Hayman at Taunton Deane, who pushed to expand his knowledge and skill sets to ensure he could step in at any unit across the site during busy periods.

As Leon couldn't attend the ceremony, his prize was collected by Chester Site Director, Stuart Wakefield - who was extremely proud to see Leon scoop the award.

And finally, the moment we've all been waiting for...

Everyday Hero of the Year: Sarah Phillips, sponsored by i-Media

In a field of outstanding nominees, Sarah Phillips emerged as the ultimate Everyday Hero. Her unwavering courage and compassionate nature have touched the lives of many - old and incredibly young - making her an outstanding candidate within the Clacket Lane team and Roadchef family.

Congratulations to all our deserving winners! Your stories inspire us and remind us of the incredible impact individuals can make as part of our team.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our sponsors who help make events like these possible, and to every member of the Roadchef family who contributes to our success each day.

Stay tuned for more inspiring stories and exciting updates from Roadchef. Although each year culminates in our Everyday Hero awards, we continue to celebrate the everyday heroes among our team every day whilst striving for excellence in everything we do.