A senior manager at Cornerstone, Scotland’s leading social care charity, has been recognised for her hard work with a major industry award.

Hilary Bennison, Cornerstone’s Quality and Performance Manager, received the prestigious QS Ambassador Award at the Quality Scotland Awards for Business Excellence held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on Thursday, June 23.

The QS Ambassador award recognises those who strive within their organisation or sector to continually improve standards and who inspire others to do the same.

Mrs Bennison, who joined Cornerstone in 1997 and is based in Perth, said that despite a number of industry accreditation awards for the organisation in recent months, the award came as a complete shock.

She said: “I was totally surprised and very honored to win this award.  Following our Recognised for Excellence four-star success last year I have worked with colleagues to share Cornerstone’s experiences and our ‘never- ending journey to excellence’ ethos with others, while also promoting continuous improvement within Cornerstone, to ensure the highest quality of service for our customers.

“This award is testament to the work of Cornerstone and the whole voluntary sector in achieving and promoting excellence for the benefit of society.”

Last year Cornerstone received four-star Recognised for Excellence (R4E) accreditation from Quality Scotland, which is part of a European wide recognition scheme helping organisations to achieve business excellence.

Cornerstone’s quality and performance team, led by Mrs Bennison, continues to work with staff across all departments to demonstrate high levels of performance against criteria such as leadership, strategy and people results – as identified within the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model.

John Grant, Deputy Chief Executive at Cornerstone, said: “I am delighted that Hilary has received this award. It is so well deserved and reflects her commitment, dedication and hard work as our Quality and Performance Manager.

“She is a true ambassador for quality within Cornerstone and has contributed significantly towards the promotion of quality across other organisations.”

Cornerstone provides care and support services for adults, young people and children across Scotland who live with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and other support needs.

Since 1980, Cornerstone has grown to support more than 2,000 people each year, delivering services within 18 local authority areas across Scotland. More information on Cornerstone can be found by visiting www.cornerstone.org.uk