Young Ambassador, sponsored by TescoPerri Walsh As a committed member of Voice of My Own (VOMO) and Chilledout2gether (CO2), Perri is recognised for her enthusiastic support demonstrated to both projects.
Representing
VOMO at the Live and Listening event, Perri was part of the documentary team. She also delivered an enthusiastic and inspirational presentation about VOMO along with workshops based around her development as a young film-maker. Perri also found time to help set up CO2, the first youth project in Jedburgh.
Taking on a new role as a mentor to younger members, Perri can continue to spread her positive energy and encourage more young people to achieve their goals.
Wired Designed to give young people in the Scottish Borders a voice in their community, Wired is an interactive radio programme produced and presented by four local young people.
The live Sunday night show is presented on Radio Borders. Aimed at 12-18 year olds living in the Scottish Borders, Wired features both young people and service providers and gives young people the opportunity to find out about events and services in the Borders region. A popular feature of Wired is text and email polls giving young people the opportunity to give their opinion on subjects affecting the youth of the Borders.
Award for Promoting Health and Wellbeing, sponsored by Healthy Working Lives The Friends Project, Berwickshire High School Berwickshire High School's Support Base is a unit dedicated to working with young people with additional support needs, including autistic spectrum disorders. The Friends Project aims to help these pupils to mix socially with pupils from the rest of the school, develop friendships, understanding and trust.
With assistance from parents and other volunteers, outings are planned such as trips to football matches, bowling alleys and the cinema. The Friends project notes a very positive impact on each young person who has participated. Many of the support base pupils have experienced rapid progress in their social and communication skills, while pupils from the mainstream school are able to see their support base friends in a new light.
Sykes Global Services Ltd Sykes Global Services, based in Galashiels, employs 110 full-time staff working on kitting, assembly, packing and delivery of products to the customers of multinational companies. The workforce is the company's most important asset and Sykes has a strategy of investing in employees' health and wellbeing, contributing to an absentee rate of less than one percent.
The company provides free gym membership to staff, encourages participation in sporting events, offers free confidential cardiovascular health checks, gives free eye tests to computer users and supplies healthy choice menus in the canteen. These and other benefits all result in a happy and healthy workforce, while the company is now actively pursuing the Silver Healthy Working Lives Award.
Award for Excellence in Rural Diversification, sponsored by Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission The Borders Foundation for Rural Sustainability The BFRS is a non-profit making organisation of land managers set up to combine expertise in natural heritage, local and national history, farming, food and tourism. Last year, the Foundation launched the James Hutton Trail, celebrating the achievements of the eighteenth century Berwickshire farmer who became known as the "Father of Geology" but remains little-known in his native land.
The Trail features ten key locations relating to James Hutton and points of geological interest, and is promoted via a website, permanent exhibition and leaflets. The trail has attracted visitors from the Borders and much further afield, and has boosted many other rural businesses.
Philiphaugh Farm Part of Philiphaugh Trust Estate, the farm is located on the banks of Ettrick Water just upstream of Selkirk. In 2003, the Estate embarked on an ambitious programme of diversification activities culminating in the opening of the Philiphaugh Salmon Viewing Centre.
The centre attracts visitors to come and see salmon in their native habitat and hosts a range of interactive interpretation displays and fun activities for children.
The Es tate has created new walks and published leaflets describing the various routes and the historical context. Plans are now afoot to develop a visitor café and farm shop to help ensure its future sustainability.
Award for Excellence in Skills and Learning, sponsored by Borders College, Heriot Watt University and Careers Scotland Learning For ALL Learning for ALL is a partnership that aims to improve adult literacy and numeracy in the Scottish Borders. Learning for ALL provides tuition and guidance in the community and workplace as well as staff and volunteer training for partners.
To provide training for staff, Learning for ALL has hosted practice sharing conferences, seminars and regular training opportunities. These ensure that all partnership delivery staff and volunteers are trained in line with national guidelines.
Learning for ALL has ensured that people living in the Scottish Borders have access to high quality, responsive provision for literacy and numeracy to help them at work and at home, continue into further education and expand career opportunities.
Plexus Corp (UK) Ltd Plexus Corp (UK) Ltd offers a range of electronic manufacturing services including electronic design and printed circuit board assembly, to both multinational organisations and emerging local companies.
In order to meet core training needs, a full induction programme is tailored for each staff member's job description. Biannual performance and development reviews are carried out with each employee.
Plexus provides onsite facilities, dedicated to technical and IT skills. Employees can use this in their own time to further their training and improve their skills. As part of the formal training scheme, a matrix system has been introduced to show where further training is required.
Award for Promoting the Scottish Borders 4xcellence Event Management Group 4xcellence is the driving force behind The Big Weekend - Scottish Borders Music Festival which is now into its third year.
Held at Netherdale in Galashiels, the first event was so successful that the original one-day event - featuring the Proclaimers - was extended into a two-day event in 2006, which saw Deacon Blue and the Saw Doctors headlining.
With tickets on sale nationally, the event has attracted 34% of visitors from outwith the Borders, and research shows that the Big Weekend contributed over £165,000 to the local economy. Now the organisers are working on an even Bigger weekend this summer.
bordersworks.co.uk bordersworks.co.uk is a website set up and managed by the Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce, to promote the Borders as an attractive, vibrant place to live and work. It works by connecting people to businesses and services, showcasing the diversity of careers available and promoting local business activity and networking.
Real-life interviews of local people sit alongside company information and profiles of Borders towns, lifestyle and events.
As well as attracting people from outside the Borders, the website is actively promoted to school leavers, graduates and jobseekers within the area, to encourage them to stay and contribute their talent to the local economy.
Award for Best Community Project, sponsored by Sykes Global Services Ltd Kelso Community Events Kelso Community Events was formed in 2004 to revive the centuries-old tradition of St James' Fair. Entertainment during the weekend consists of a wide variety of music, dancing and displays including falconry and medieval combat. A traditional market, activities and displays from local groups from the Brownies to vintage farm vehicles complete the programme.
The event is widely publicised and in 2006, was able to be self-funding as a result of intensive community fundraising and donations from local businesses. Organised by the community, the St James' Fair is set once more to become a significant event in the Borders calendar.
Walkerburn News Group Five years ago, the villagers of Walkerburn were aware that for a variety of reasons, the community was at risk of becoming fragmented. It was decided that the village needed a regular method of communication, and the BURNing Issues newsletter was born. Produced by volunteers and with support from local businesses, the newsletter is delivered free to every household in the area.
Not content with a simple black and white photocopied version, the Walkerburn News Group have used EU funding to train volunteers in web design, establish a broadband internet link and develop their own office within Walkerburn Church vestry, improving facilities for the newsletter and the church itself.
Award for Business Excellence sponsored by The Buccleuch Group Glenrath Farms Ltd Scotland's largest producer of free-range and barn eggs, the Campbell family of Glenrath Farm began egg production in the 1960s. The business has grown to become a national success story, supplying supermarket stores in Scotland and the north of England.
The biggest challenge the company currently faces is supplying the demand for free-range eggs which is growing at a rate of 10 per cent per year. Expansion of production has been possible with a total investment over the last five years of £20m. Glenrath Farms - still a family business - now employs over 200 people and last year recorded a turnover of £31m.
Syntropharma Ltd Founded in December 2005 by two pharmaceutical company executives, Syntropharma has identified a gap in the market for improving the clinical profile of certain existing drugs by reformulating them into different presentations.
Having now secured funding from a variety of venture capital sources, the company is developing products which could eventually replace oral drugs in the treatment of neurological conditions and cardiovascular disease. The company plans to extend its research into other areas, hoping to build Syntropharma into a leading global player in the life sciences market.
