Pictured: Visual Impairment Rehabilitation Team, winner of the People's Choice award

The winners of Birmingham City Council's Chamberlain Awards 2011 have been revealed before a 480-strong audience at The ICC in Birmingham city centre, making this year's event the biggest in the awards' seven-year history.

Named after Joseph Chamberlain, one of Birmingham's most respected civic leaders, the Chamberlain Awards are Birmingham City Council's flagship awards event. Established by Councillor Alan Rudge, Cabinet Member for Equalities and Human Resources, the awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of employees from across the Council who go the extra mile to ensure the people of Birmingham receive quality services.  

Winners were announced in ten diverse categories, alongside three long service awards and a unique contribution award that were also presented on the night. The Papal Visit Team was among the winners, picking up the award for Partnerships for Birmingham after organising the visit of Pope Benedict XVI for the beautification of Cardinal John Henry Newman in September last year.

The Papal Visit Team was already organising a number of high profile events when organisers decided - with just 11 weeks to go - that the service should be moved from Coventry to Cofton Park. Because of the hard work and determination of the individuals, the team received high praise from the Archbishop of Birmingham and their efforts were broadcast to over 1.5 billion people worldwide. 

Tracey Radford was named winner for the Working with Communities category after developing the Neighbourhood Champions Trainee Scheme; a project which aims to provide employment training to young people, benefitting both themselves and the local community. Over the last two years, Tracey has worked with a team of mentors, known internally as 'surrogate parents', to provide support to more than 750 trainees, mainly aged between 18 and 24. Proving just how successful the scheme has been, more than 40 per cent of those people are now in employment, some with 25 year contracts.  

Senior social work assistant, Janet Parks, scooped the Personal Achievement award in recognition of the help she has provided to families, particularly deprived children, in the city. Described as a 'shining star' by her colleagues, Janet has successfully found funding for Christmas presents, Easter eggs and even holidays for the children that she works with. 

This year, the People's Choice award which is voted for by the general public was given to the Visual Impairment Rehabilitation Team. With more than 100 years' experience between them, the team was recognised for the huge amount of effort each individual has put into helping those people who have lost their sight. Working together, the team offers mobility training and basics such as how to cook a meal or a hot drink without scalding themselves. Nominators of the team expressed just how much this help meant to them, with some stating life would be unbearable without the work of the Visual Impairment Rehabilitation Team. 

After congratulating winners at the ceremony, Councillor Rudge said: "This has been an outstanding year for the Chamberlain Awards. The standard of the entries was incredibly high, so much so that the judges had a difficult time compiling a shortlist, let alone deciding on the winners. This event is the highlight of my year, it provides a great opportunity to recognise the outstanding efforts of Birmingham City Council employees and allows us time to reflect on the positive influences the council has on the city of Birmingham.  

"It was a delight to present the awards at what has been our biggest and most successful Chamberlain Awards. The high standard and diversity of entries this year has been exceptional. The level of commitment and pride in the job among Birmingham City Council's workers never ceases to amaze, and these awards rightly pay testament to this fact. We are looking forward to continuing to build on the success of this year's awards well into 2012."