North Depot Driver of the Year 2008

Last November saw the 25th Anniversary of Ring and Ride. To mark this occasion, an event was held on the 2nd December at the Clarendon Suites in Birmingham which is located close to Ladywood where the service began 25 years ago.

The theme of the event was to celebrate the huge impact that Ring and Ride has had in helping thousands of people in the West Midlands with limited mobility maintain control of their lives and enable them to travel independently. The event was also used as a platform to look at the future development of the service and the challenges that it will have to respond to effectively, resulting from population ageing and helping younger disabled people meet their potential.

The efforts of Ring and Ride's greatest asset its staff, were also recognised with Driver and Non-Driver of the year awards. These were awarded to staff who had shown outstanding commitment to the service with the final winner being decided by a series of tests, which in the case of the drivers examined their driving skills and non-drivers their knowledge of the Charity's activities.

The Driver of the Year award has been named the Steve Devlin Award in memory of Steve who passed away in April 2008. Steve, who was the Trade Union Representative at the Wolverhampton Ring and Ride depot, was a popular driver with both his colleagues and service Passengers. He was with the Charity from 2003 and will be missed by all who knew him.

Helen, Steve's widow, pictured, very kindly agreed to present the award, which this year was won by David Evans from North Birmingham, who has been with the Charity since January 2006.

Having been nominated by his depot, David Evans was one of 9 drivers competing for the award which was decided by an assessment of their driving skills.