THE Stars of East Lothian Council’s committed workforce were honoured at a glamorous awards ceremony last week.

Classroom assistant Emma Smith, from Stenton Primary School, walked away with the prestigious Council Worker of the Year Award at the end of a night which saw young and old praised for their efforts serving across the whole of East Lothian.

Emma, who works with children on an individual and group level, was honoured for her work finding new methods and approaches to support children with particular needs and “throwing energy and initiative into everything she does”.

East Lothian Council's annual STAR Awards, which were held at The Brunton, Musselburgh, last Thursday evening, celebrate the achievements of the local authority's employees who have gone the extra mile to carry out their work. Nominations came from members of the public and colleagues.

From about 200 nominations, a board of judges had the difficult job of selecting 31 finalists in 11 categories who attended the award ceremony.

And there was additional recognition from county Provost Ludovic Broun-Lindsay for a young person who has impressed everyone at the council with her dedication.

Emily Whitecross joined the local authority four years ago as an apprentice plumber and was named the UK Association for Public Service Excellence Female Apprentice of the Year 2015.

Emily, who has now completed her training, was hailed by the Provost as an inspiration to young people in the county.

He said: “Emily is the embodiment of our commitment to positive destinations for young people.

“She is a credit to herself and to this council.”

Emily is now the council’s gas monitoring officer.

She said: “I was delighted to be given this recognition.”

Speaking at the beginning of the awards, Angela Leitch, chief executive of East Lothian Council, said they highlighted the variety of services the workforce provided to the community.

She said: “I think that our workforce is flexible, innovative and really interested in working to find new ways of delivering services.

“Working together, with all our partners, helps us to deliver much better results for communities and individual people.

“So, thank you to our partners and our staff for continuing to deliver first-class services and support to the people of East Lothian.”

The full list of STAR Award winners: Customer Excellence Individual; Deborah Lawrie, Adult Wellbeing, Highly Commended (HC) Katrina Cummings, Antisocial Behaviour, finalist Stephanie Carr, Community Housing. Customer Excellence Team; Maths Academy Team, Education, HC Children’s Wellbeing Assessment Hub, finalist Property Maintenance Planned Team. Unsung Heroes; Keith Christie, Outdoor Education, HC Alison Forrest, Community Housing, finalist SQL Team, IT.

Services to our Communities; Development Planning & Policy MIR Team, HC Val McIntyre & Laura Muir, Education, finalist Crossing Patrol Guides. Services to our People; Active Schools Team, HC Elizabeth Woodsend, Music Teacher, finalist Caroline Grieve, Adult Wellbeing. One Council; Booking Live Project & Online Payments for Schools Team, HC Sustainable Transport Officers Group, finalist Creditors Team. Community Partner Individual; Stan Da Prato. Community Partner Team; Biffa Recycling Collection Team, HC Amenity Services Team, Peppercraig, finalist Steven Wray, Public Health Practitioner. Provost’s Award; Preston Lodge Persian Ladies and Recycling Initiative Team. The East Lothian Courier Award; Countryside Rangers. Team of the Year; Rent Income & Revenues Team, HC Preston Lodge Rugby Staff Team, finalist Economic Development & Tourism Team. Council Worker of the Year; Emma Smith, Classroom Assistant, HC Robert Reynolds, Vehicle & Plant Maintenance, finalist Hazel McLachlan, Nursery Nurse.