The North East Autism Society celebrated the achievements of its staff in style, hand-delivering its annual Star Awards to homes, schools and services across the region.
Patrons Pam Royle and Peter Barron - dressed as Frenchy and Danny from the movie Grease - surprised the winners by turning up at their work with awards, prizes and special video messages from celebrities including Alan Shearer and Vera actress Brenda Blethyn.
The whole day turned into a great big party as staff and the people they support dressed in 1980s' costume and held buffets and discos to mark the occasion.
The Society wanted to honour the fact that its staff had gone the extra mile during the pandemic and repeated lockdowns, working tirelessly to support autistic children, young people and adults across the North East. CEO John Phillipson said:
The award-winners were truly inspirational - but all of our staff went the extra mile during the pandemic and we wanted to celebrate that.
Families of people in NEAS services and colleagues nominated staff for the awards, with comments including: "I can't imagine my son's world without this staff member. How lucky we are to have him - he's a superhero."
Awards ranged from lifetime achievement to newcomer of the year, unsung hero to CEO commendation. You can read about our winners, listen to their celebrity messages and see photos of their big day below.
Pam Royle, television presenter, said: "The whole day was truly uplifting. You could feel the love and the warmth in every site we visited, and it was incredible to see and hear about the amazing things that staff do every day."
The stars of our services have been honoured during an awards roadshow led by North-East television legend Pam Royle. Read more
CEO Commendation Read more
Chairman's Award Read more
Team of the year Read more
Lifetime Achievement Read more
Inspirational Leader Read more
Making a difference Read more
Unsung hero Read more
Inspirational leader Read more
Newcomer of the year Read more