Q1 Regional & SOC Brilliant People winners revealed

We're thrilled to share the latest round of Regional and SOC Brilliant People winners for Q1 FY26.

At IVC Evidensia, we aim to celebrate the achievements of our colleagues as they deliver on our mission of making animal care better. That’s why we’ve expanded our Brilliant People Awards to recognise colleagues across all regions and in all areas of the business, throughout the year. 

This quarter has seen over 400 nominations from across our UK network, with an incredible 48 winners.  

Following our national awards, each Brilliant People nomination is driven by our one of our three core values: 

We care for animals and people, keep our promises, and treat each other with decency and respect. 

We dare to innovate, encourage entrepreneurial thinking and identify opportunities to succeed in a changing world. 

We share knowledge and best practices, and make decisions based on trust, dialogue, commitment, and engagement. 

All the nominations we received reflected these values in the most inspiring ways, making the selection process particularly challenging.  

Below you can read about some of the incredible work our colleagues did to achieve their awards: 

Alice Watson, Lead Vet, Taverham Vets – We Care 

Alice is kind, caring, and approachable, always happy to help with anything and everything. She is highly conscientious and consistently puts the needs of both staff and clients first.  

Alice played a pivotal role in securing our recent Practice Standard Award, dedicating countless hours and effort to ensure everything was met to the highest standard. Her commitment, hard work, and support make her an invaluable part of the team and a true credit to IVC Evidensia. 

Dan Lidgbird, RVN/TB Tester, Glenthorne Vets – We Dare 

Dan has the unique role of a large animal vet nurse in addition to being an Approved Tuberculin Tester (ATT). He is using his RVN role to drive change and challenge the use of vet nurses in large animal practice through demonstrating how the schedule 3 legislation can be used in farm practice – something which is not commonplace.  

He has also been voted onto the RCVS Nursing Board where he is involved in debate around changes to the vet surgeons act and how this should change to enable nurses to have a more accountable and clinical role, especially in farm. Through this role he is daring to challenge current protocols for the future of RVN on farm making sure that this area of the profession is fairly represented.  

Recently joining the Farm Clinical Board, Dan is going to share his experiences delivering a talk at next year’s IVC Evidensia Farm Congress. His aim is to use this platform to elevate the role of large animal veterinary nursing within the profession. 

Pauline Hood, Receptionist, Ardene House Vets – We Share 

Pauline has been a key part of the Ardene House, Bridge of Don team for almost 20 years. Her willingness to share her knowledge and experience has been central in making her team friendly, effective and efficient.  

Over the past 12 months, Pauline has trained two receptionists who were new to the veterinary profession. Her patience, good humour and willingness to show trust in new people gave staff the confidence to grow quickly into their roles.  
 
Pauline demonstrates best practice daily, with her exceptional customer service skills.  She knows all customers that walk in and greets them and their pets as old friends. Her willingness to help people is one of the reasons that clients continue to return to us.  

For those who didn’t get the chance to nominate a colleague this time, the next round of regional and SOC award entries will open in January, with winners announced in February. 

Congratulations to our winners and all those nominated for an award! Winners will receive a £100 high street voucher delivered via Pawsome Rewards. 

The full list of Q1 FY26 Regional Brilliant People winners is as follows:

Region 1: Scotland/Northern Ireland/Isle of Man 

Mark Leggett, Mixed Veterinary Surgeon, Crown Vets, We Care
Vicki McAllister,  Head Veterinary Nurse, Rathgael Vets, We Care
Finley Boyd, Receptionist, Nithsdale Vets, We Dare
Grainne Farrell, Receptionist, The Brook Vets, We Dare
Pauline Hood, Receptionist, Ardene House, We Share
Leanne Bell, Registered Veterinary Nurse, Whitehouse Vets, We Share

Region 2: North England

Georgia Turner,  Receptionist, Hunt's Veterinary Clinic, We Care
Wendy Kitching,  Receptionist, Stokesley Vet Practice, We Care
Nicole Connor, Locum Veterinary Nurse, Gilmore Veterinary Surgery, We Dare
Chloe Farmery, Veterinary Care Assistant, Highfield Vets, We Dare
Maisie James, Veterinary Surgeon, Animates Vets, We Share
Hayley Coleman, Registered Veterinary Nurse , Alder Veterinary Practices, We Share

Region 3: West England & North Wales 

Nicola Rickus, Head Receptionist, Pool House Vets, We Care
Lisa Hargreaves, Student Veterinary Nurse, Pool House Equine, We Care
Daniel Lidgbird, TB Tester, Glenthorne Vets, We Dare
Elizabeth Whitton, Veterinary Surgeon, Andale Vets, We Dare
Laura Owen, Veterinary Surgeon, Oakfield Vets, We Share
Chloe Whitehouse, Veterinary Care Assistant, The Vet Clinic, We Share

Region 4: East England

Alice Watson, Vet, Taverham Vets, We Care
Faye Rickman, Head Veterinary Nurse, Pengelly & Mizen, We Care
Heidemarie Purdy, Practice Manager, Three Rivers Veterinary Group, We Dare
Theodora Aduloju, Veterinary Surgeon, Abivale Vets, We Dare
Sally Coaster, Receptionist, Framlingham Vets, We Share
Rachel Potts, Head Veterinary Nurse, The Vet Centre, We Share

Region 5: South West England & South Wales

Laura Chivers, Registered Veterinary Nurse, Plymouth Vets, We Care
Maxine Crook, Receptionist and Animal Nursing Assistant, Manor Farm Vets, We Care
Julie Batten, Senior Equine Administrator, Kingston Vets, We Dare
Charlotte Steel, Veterinary Surgeon, Avon Lodge Vets, We Dare
Holly Harnden, Receptionis,t Rowe Vet Group, We Share
Heather Oborne, Practice Manager, Avon Lodge Vets, We Share

Region 6: South East England 

Rachel Foulds, Deputy Head Veterinary Nurse, Runnymede Vets, We Care
Nicola Hazelwood, Receptionist, Well Pets, We Care
Kerry Tasker, Receptionist, Highcroft Vets, We Care
Chloe Morris, Deputy Clinical Director, Hook Vets, We Care
Julie Carmody, Receptionist, Virginia Water Vets, We Dare
Kelly Chantler, Practice Manager, 1066 Vets, We Share

Region 7: Referrals 

Laura Murray, Business Relationship Manager, Moorview Referrals, We Care
Faye Knighton, Registered Veterinary Nurse, Frank Pet Surgeons, We Care
Tara Colella, Head Veterinary Nurse, Scarsdale Vets, We Dare
Ariann Rose, Veterinary Care Assistant, Blaise Referrals, We Dare
Scarlett Townsend-Gee, Registered Veterinary Nurse, Blaise Referrals, We Share
Amrita Thind, Registered Veterinary Nurse, Blaise Referrals, We Share

SOC

Quest Luis, Transition & Transformation Lead, Group SOC, We Care
Dan Smith, Senior Commercial Finance Manager, Group SOC, We Dare
Sophie Stone, Accounts Assistant, Group SOC, We Share
Lee Corrigan, Head of Fleet, UK SOC, We Care
Kayleigh Wallace, Commercial Finance Manager, UK SOC, We Share
Liz Murphy, Senior Communications Manager, UK SOC, We Dare

To see the list of Regional and SOC Brilliant People Winners from last quarter, click here.