Goodbye Kathy and Mary!

On Tuesday 9 December, we said goodbye to two longstanding team members - Kathy Tanswell and Mary Keegan - who are both retiring after 34 years and 37 years respectively.

Kathy has been a Residential Caretaker at Avondale Park Road since 1980. In a goodbye presentation attended by staff members from across the Octavia departments, Estate Services Manager Andy Carlisle praised the high standard of her work: "I don't think anyone has ever visited and said the place wasn't immaculate. Kathy has been extremely hard-working over the years, and has always quietly got on with her work with no fuss."

Mary has worked for Octavia as a Cleaner at our Camden Street properties since 1977. None of her properties contained any storage, which meant that for 37 years she has had the tough task of carrying all her equipment from house to house. But, as Andy acknowledged, she has carried out her work professionally without any complaints.

With 71 years of service between them, Kathy and Mary have shown exemplary loyalty and dedication to Octavia. At the presentation, they were given gifts and flowers as tokens of the organisation's gratitude for all their hard work. They will both be greatly missed.