An Eden man has been named nursery manager of the year in a national industry awards ceremony.
Gerry Garvey manages both Little Oaks Nursery in Penrith’s Oak Road and Muddy Boots Nursery at Newton Rigg College campus, near Penrith.
Aged 54 and a resident of Penrith, Gerry was nominated for the title by his deputy managers Stacey Herrmann and Sarah Parsons.
He was then picked for the top spot by judges of the Nursery Management Today (NMT) Awards who said: “Gerry has a calm and motivational leadership style and has a strong relationship with his staff and families.
“His ambition to create lifelong learning experiences using the outdoors is truly inspirational.”
A former member of the armed forces, Gerry changed career in 2006 when he began working for Cumbria County Council children’s services department.
From 2008 to 2012 he worked at a children’s centre in Penrith before becoming manager at Muddy Boots Nursery in 2013. Little Oaks Nursery opened in 2019.
Due to COVID-19 regulations the NMT awards were held virtually last week but were still attended by more than 550 guests.
This meant Gerry was able to hold a get-together with his two deputy managers, following COVID restrictions, as they are in a work bubble.
The trio got dressed up in their finery for the occasion and Gerry said he was left in shock when his name was announced as the winner.
“It was totally unexpected when I won. If it wasn’t for the team behind me we wouldn’t be where we are — it takes more than one individual to make it work,” he said.
