Comment / Reflecting on the HFMA Awards

I joined the HFMA in 2006, and started working on the awards in 2007. A lot has changed in that time, but what hasn’t changed has been the level of excitement I get as we see the nominations flooding in. 

My first role as part of the awards was to collect and organise the submissions for the judges. In those days, entries were posted to us, and my earliest memory of the awards is receiving all of the submissions through the post addressed to me. It made me feel so important and like it was Christmas come early! 

I remember spending most of September at the photocopier, printing and posting copies to each award-judging panel. Things are slightly more streamlined now, thanks to our investment in the HFMA awards portal, which has revolutionised how we administer the awards. However, the excitement is still real, especially when we get to the final judging presentations. 

Another significant change is how the awards categories and even the trophies themselves have evolved over the years. When I first started, there were only four awards: Finance Director of the Year, Finance Team of the Year, the Governance award and the Havelock Training award. This year we have 13 categories, including the original four still from 2007. This growth reflects the changing environment in the NHS, the broad range of issues in which finance staff are involved, and the importance of finance and governance in general. We are currently on 175 combined winners across individuals and organisations, and we’ll of course add to that this year. 

You might think my favourite award category is the finance director award or finance team awards, since they are the most popular and arguably the highest profile. However, my favourite has to be the Governance award. This category often generates the most questions about submissions, presentations to the judges, and whether an additional person can attend. So a big thank you to all of our governance nominees across the years for your passion and enthusiasm!

When it comes to the trophies, the design of these has become more unique in recent years. With the HFMA based in Bristol, it made sense to choose something iconic and unique to the area for our award winners. Bristol blue glass, known worldwide, was the perfect choice. The award’s shape is meant to resemble a flame, although when they were green, some people humorously remarked that they looked like Vosene shampoo bottles, for those old enough to remember! 

It is wonderful to play a role in how we as an association and membership body recognise good practice and celebrate those who go above and beyond from our community. However, for anyone who knows me, it’s no secret that I love being organised. Scheduling the final judging dates ranks right up there with my love of mail merges and minutes! Fitting two and a half hours into almost 52 judges' calendars is challenging, but there is nothing more satisfying than getting all the dates set!

I have been involved in the HFMA awards for almost 20 years. I’ve loved being part of every single one, and I still get excited now as I did during my days stood at the photocopier. It’s such a special thing to recognise the efforts of the healthcare finance community. It’s so easy to assume that all the great work taking place just happens, and it just doesn’t. So being part of something that shines a light on the efforts, expertise, and commitment that is shown across the finance community, is something I will always be extremely proud of.