Three employees of Mackellar Care Services are finalists in the Aged & Community Services’ 2017 NSW & ACT Awards for Excellence.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tina McIntosh and Casey Hatch are vying for the ‘employee of the year’ award, while Kylie Gibson is up for ‘trainee of the year’.
The trio will attend the awards dinner at Doltone House, Sydney, on June 26, accompanied by eight fellow employees.
Mrs Strong said she was “very excited” about the news.
“They’re all very worth recipients,” she said.
“It’s a prestigious award [event] because it’s an award within our industry, and to be recognised as a finalist is a great achievement.”
None of the women have been award finalists before and shared a sense of surprise at being nominated.
Ms Gibson said she was a “bit overwhelmed” when she found out she was a finalist, and was feeling nervous about the awards dinner.
The trainee has been working at Mackellar Care since late 2016 and is undertaking a certificate three in horticulture. She has been working outdoors for around five years and said she likes working with soil.
“I like designing something and standing back and seeing the finished product,” she said.
Ms Gibson is currently throwing her efforts into a new garden alongside the Wallaby Flats. When it is complete, the garden will have vegetables, berries and fruit trees.
Administration and human resources officer, Casey Hatch, said she was looking forward to the awards event.
“We went last year and really enjoyed the night,” she said.
Ms Hatch was heavily involved in the War Memorial Garden project at the Alkira campus, which contributed to her nomination.
“I was really honoured on the opening day to see it come to the success it did. And just to see the expressions of the residents of what it meant to them,” she said.
Activity coordinator, Tina McIntosh, said it was “unbelievable” to be chosen as a finalist.
“I think it’s lovely for Mackellar Care that there are three of us,” she said.
“I think it’s a huge thing for the country – that it’s not just the city people.”
Mrs McIntosh said the residents “enrich” her as they “live, laugh and enjoy the journey”.
“For me, it’s for the residents because they make my job who I am,” she said.
“I love my job.”