Meet our latest Wonder winner...

This Warwick Wonder Award recognises an individual's unwavering dedication and tireless behind-the-scenes work at Warwick Innovation Campus, Stratford-upon-Avon.
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Wayne Owen, Estates

In his role as Head Caretaker, Wayne is one of those 'unsung heroes' who continuously goes above and beyond.

Wayne is one of those rare individuals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly, often without recognition. Whether it’s late nights, weekends, or responding to unexpected issues, Wayne is always there, taking care of the site.

Recently, Wayne produced two comprehensive documents detailing lock-up procedures for the site, complete with maps and clear instructions.

These papers were not only exceptionally well-written but also far exceeded the expectations of his role. This demonstrated his professionalism, foresight, and care for the safety and security of the campus.

Thanks to Wayne’s consistent efforts, Wellesbourne remains a secure and well-maintained environment for all. This award is a heartfelt recognition of years of quiet dedication.

Transcript

Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor: For our Wonder today, we are at the Stratford Innovation Campus at Wellesbourne, in the midst of all these fantastic vegetables that the staff here grow and then they come to campus and they are part of all the food that we buy through the EatWise kitchen. So this is a fantastic way of developing that circular economy.

But more important, we are here to give a Wonder to Wayne Owen, who is the Head Caretaker here on this site, looks after all the buildings, looks after all the land—there are a lot of buildings here, by the way—and just helps build and support the community feel of everybody here at Wellesbourne on the Stratford Innovation Campus.

They're having a little team meeting at the moment, so let's go and interrupt them and surprise him.

Do you know what's happened? No. Nobody knows what's happened. Except actually some people do know, don't they?

You see, every month we do this Wows and Wonders thing and people put forward the names of people who've done wonderful things above and beyond. And a certain Wayne has had his name put forward - because he's an unsung hero who does amazing things to support all the work that goes on in this wonderful facility.

And I think that means Wayne deserves a big round of applause, doesn't he? Yes.

We even have some little things for you to mark this day. The memento of this, of this day. You see, for a university, nothing can really be happening unless it's in a piece of paper. So there is a piece of paper and firstly, shake your hand and say thank you.

You'll be grabbing that chair like nobody's business. When we have the opportunity to go out and say to people, thank you so much for the fantastic work you do. We do think of you all as stars, and of course, therefore we have to have the star, don't we? Which shows that that is for you.

And congratulations and thank you so much for the fantastic work you've done - a round of applause!

Wayne's nominator told us:

"The reason I believe the time is right for him to receive an award is because he's been out-of-sight for years doing this role day in, day out. We don't get many security incidents on the site, which has to be down to the daily work by Wayne and the rest of the team over there."

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