Leander's double delight
Winner: Leander Waine of Go Drive
Sponsors: Chattertons
"SOMETIMES a change of career is just the thing that's needed," said Ben Ellis from the podium, representing award sponsors Chattertons.
"Our winner has done just that. Having trained in human resources and beauty therapy, she wasn't really satisfied with her working life and started looking around for something else.
"Working in Lincoln, she started noticing driving school cars and decided to look into that as an alternative.
"Her retraining started in earnest in May 2007, and despite juggling a full-time job and looking after her four-year-old son, she qualified as a driving instructor in January 2008.
"Two months later she started up her own driving school with her first pupil and in June 2008 she was awarded the ROSPA Gold for driving excellence.
"Our winner offers all sorts of extras, such as lesson hand-outs with tips for safer driving and journey planning, and once pupils have passed their driving test she encourages them to go on to Pass Plus and the Advanced Drivers courses.
"For something different, she also offers off-road driver training in which one of her most enthusiastic pupils is a member of Mencap.
"Off-road sessions and skid-pan training sound like great fun, but of course they do bring serious benefits to the drivers of the future, as recognised by ROSPA and the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership.
"As an instructor, our winner has set herself a rigorous schedule of continuous personal development, attending courses and seminars to improve her own knowledge and teaching skills. "The business has its own website and even a Facebook page for friends and pupils."
"This means a lot to me," said Leander in accepting the honour. "I was born and raised in Sleaford, it is a great place to live in and grow up, and I really appreciate this award because it comes from the town.
"Thank you for recognising the hard work that has gone into Go Drive. A big thank you to my pupils too, because without them Go Drive really wouldn't be such a success."
But the honours didn't stop there for Leander.
The 2009 event saw the addition of a special award from the Athena Network, which named Leander the Most Promising Businesswoman of the Year.
WINNER: Go Drive's Leander Waine (left) received the Business Achievement award, presented by Ben Ellis, representing award sponsors Chattertons. Leander was also presented with the Athena Network's Most Promising Businesswoman of the Year award, by its regional director Ladey Adey (right).
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