SPONSORED BY WESTRAY RECRUITMENT GROUP
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
FINALIST
MIKE HEAGNEY ( GARDENS REVITALISED )
Lifetime Achievement – Ken Devereux picks up the special award from Westray Recruitment Group managing director Maureen Wright .
WINNER
KEN DEVEREUX ( DEVEREUX TRANSPORT AND DISTRIBUTION )
An emotional Ken Devereux said he was “ honoured but very surprised ” to win the Lifetime Achievement category – with his late son Russ at the forefront of his mind .
Ken admitted Russ – who tragically took his own life in 2018 – was a massive part of the ongoing success of Devereux Transport and Distribution , the familyrun Billingham firm .
It was the second award of the night for the Devereux family , with Russ ’ s wife Catherine having taken the Making A Difference trophy for founding the Russ Devereux Headlight Project – a Stockton-based charity that helps reduce suicide numbers through therapy , preventative education and training .
Ken said : “ Catherine ’ s award was much more deserved than mine . Yes , I ’ ve had a lifetime of it , but it is what it is .”
Fighting back understandable emotion , he said Russ was “ here with us ”, adding : “ I ’ m proud – he was a character . I can ’ t talk about him without getting emotional but yes , he was a massive part of it .”
Ken , 70 , admitted he had “ no idea ” of the sort of business journey he was embarking on when he started out . He said : “ It ’ s never been an easy business and I don ’ t suppose it ever will be , but it ’ s still enjoyable and the people I work with make it all the more enjoyable .
“ I ’ m trying to take it a bit easier but there are some good people working there , so the company will carry on and keep up a good , solid Teesside tradition .”
He also praised the Teesside business community , saying : “ They just keep on going , the resilience is there . They ’ re knocked , they come back , and that ’ s what it ’ s all about .”
SPONSOR ’ S MESSAGE
Westray Recruitment managing director Maureen Wright said : “ We were delighted to sponsor the Lifetime Achievement Award . Having been at the forefront of the Teesside business community and the transport sector for a number of years , Ken Devereux is an absolute gentleman , who has built his business on a strong set of values , professionalism and bloody hard work ! Additionally , his work with the Headlight Project in memory of his son Russ is something to be applauded . He was without doubt a worthy winner , but both Paul and Mike have enjoyed equally impressive careers and deserve the highest level of recognition .”
Having run well-known Teesside store chain Heagney ’ s Supermarkets with his brother John for many years , they sold out in 1999 , allowing Mike to concentrate on his passion for horticulture . Mike is now director of Gardens Revitalised , leading a team of gardeners who look after the grounds of properties throughout Teesside and North Yorkshire , including stately homes .
And charity begins at home for Mike who , with his sister Gel , regularly opens the immaculately maintained gardens of his own home , Tudor Croft near Guisborough , to raise charity funds . Mike , 79 , has raised well over £ 100,000 over the years for countless charities , and also works as a volunteer helper on the Middlesbrough Pilgrimage to Lourdes .
FINALIST
PAUL JOHNSON ( UNIVERSAL COATINGS )
Having left school at 15 with no qualifications , Sheffield lad Paul ’ s career began as a painter and decorator before branching out into industrial painting . Aged 21 , he was sent to Hartlepool to work at Huntsman Tioxide and , having met his wife-to-be Karen while staying in a Seaton Carew B & B , he made Hartlepool his home . In 1999 , he set up shot-blasting and coatings specialist Universal Coatings & Services – a firm that has made a profit every year since .
Tragically , Paul recently lost his courageous and inspirational 14-year battle with cancer . But throughout his ordeal , he continued taking on apprentices while remaining a voice for Teesside in the technical arena of specialist coatings . RIP Paul .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 39