Long-serving staff at Seamans Building have been celebrated at a special awards ceremony.
More than 80 staff – from newly appointed apprentices to those with decades of service – attended the Victoria in Thurston on April 20 to celebrate the company’s hugely successful year.
As part of the evening, special commemorative coins were presented to the longest serving members of the team.
Managing Director Duncan Haydon kicked off the celebrations with a speech, raising his glass to his team for all their hard work over the years.
Incredibly, among the Seamans team, 32% have worked for the company for more than ten years, with 14% working for more than 25 years.
Duncan said: “Each of you work hard to deliver a huge range of work – heritage tasks, modern new builds, each with unique and, at times, very technical demands, with many of those challenges recognised by industry awards.
“Seamans Building has proven to be a sustainable employer for more than 111 years.
“Few constructors, in fact businesses, in the region can boast such longevity – clearly, we are doing something right!”
The event gave a warm welcome to new members of the team and young apprentices as well as those who have years of experience under their belts.
“Tonight, we say thank you to you all,” said Duncan.
First to be recognised were those that had been with the firm for between 10 and 15 years.
Stephen Thorpe started at Seamans as a 16-year-old apprentice.
He said: “It is funny when you think about it to now be training my own apprenticeships, passing on the skills I learned when I was a teenager. It’s great though, we have a great bunch of lads working for us.
“Seamans is a really good company to work for. Your managers’ doors are always open if you need to have a chat. It has a very family-orientated feeling to it.”
Next up were the 15 to 20 years awards.
Senior Quantity Surveyor Donna Barford has been with Seamans for 17 years.
She said: “We work on projects all over the region, so it is wonderful to have everyone at Seamans all in one place today.
“It’s clear that we all enjoy working for Seamans, and you can see that by how many of our team have stayed with us over the years”.
Project co-ordinator Glenn King was among those to receive a 20 to 35 year commendation for his 23 years at the company.
He said: “I was 17 when I began training at Seamans.
“I started as a technician, doing technical drawing and design work while also doing some buying and getting into quantity surveying.
“It’s a great company to work for, everyone is friendly and on the same side.”
Next up were those who has served 25 to 35 years at the firm.
Neil Prentice, who has been with Seamans since starting in 1994 as a 16-year-old, said; “I have now trained up several apprentices myself now.
“We have a great bunch of lads here at Seamans and everything runs so smoothly. It’s just a really nice place to work.”
Finally, awards were handed to staff who had been at the company for 35 to more than 40 years.
These were Richard Cobbold, with 36 years’ service, David Latter, with 40 years’ service and David Hart, with 41 years’ service.
David Latter started working for the company in 1982.
“I came here straight from school and have been here ever since,” he said.
“Everyone gets on and feels appreciated here at Seamans – you don’t get that anywhere else.
“It’s also nice to see the youngsters come through.
“It’s great having that chance to train them and pass on your skills – and hope that they listen and learn!”
Duncan added: “This event was the perfect way for the whole team to get together to celebrate our successes.
“It was great to see everyone, from young apprentices to those who have been with us for years.
“We have a brilliant team here at Seamans, and it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to say thank you for all their hard work.”
If you are interested in entering a career in construction, visit Seamans’ careers page here.
Photography by Simply C Photography.
Seamans Building’s long service recipients
10 to 15 years’ service
Clyde Palmer, James Elsden, Stephen Thorpe and Colin Hovells (11 years’ service)
Robbie Stannard, Robbie Barrat and Tom Smith (13 years’ service )
Karl Landymore (14 years’ service)
15 to 20 years’ service
Donna Barford and Ian Davey (17 years’ service)
Mark Theobald, Rob Sharpe and John Reed (18 years’ service)
20-25 years’ service
Trevor Peck and Paul Koswoski (20 years’ service)
Dale Holder (21 years’ service)
Glenn King (23 years’ service)
25-35 years’ service
Quinny Warner (26 years service)
Neil Honeyball and Neil Prentice (27 years service)
David Locke , Phil Page and Jerry Stafford (29 years service)
35 – 40 plus years’ service
Richard Cobbold (36 years’ service)
David Latter (40 years’ service)
David Hart (41 years’ service)
