The Go.B.E Awards 2026

On Friday 18 September, we celebrated our third Go.B.E Awards, the Go North East Brilliant Employee Awards, Matt Bailey, from BBC Radio Newcastle joined us to host the awards, celebrating the incredible work and achievements of our colleagues across the business.

This year, we received almost 400 nominations, with 40 outstanding colleagues shortlisted individually, 5 fantastic teams across 9 award categories. Our annual Go.B.E Awards serve as a powerful reminder of what makes our team at Go North East so special. It was great to come together with staff and their loved ones to celebrate their dedication, passion and contributions.

Every nominee deserves a huge applause, with a special congratulations to this years category winners:

🦸 Customer Hero of the Year 2026: Raudy Biset-Hernandez, Sunderland

Raudy is always smiling, happy and friendly, creating a warm and welcoming experience for every customer. His positive attitude, kindness and genuine care for customers, make him a very well deserving winner of this award.

Congratulations, Raudy! 🎉 

🦺 Health and Safety Pioneer Award 2026: Tommy Conroy, Riverside

Tommy takes the time to listen to drivers’ concerns around the depot and has made a noticeable difference to the safety of both buses and the wider workplace. His commitment to improving safety and acting on the concerns of colleagues make him a fantastic Health and Safety pioneer.

Congratulations, Tommy ! 🎉

🤝🏻 Community Champion 2026: Claire Fiddler, Head Office

Claire is a shining example of community spirit, pushing herself to raise vital funds for Great North Air Ambulance. Claire pledged to complete 30 challenges in 2026 including the Great North Run, Three Peaks Challenge and a skydive, raising more than £4,000! Her dedication and commitment to helping others make her a true Community Champion.

Congratulations, Claire! 🎉 

🧰 Apprentice of the Year Award 2026: Dion Spinos, Percy Main 

Now in his fourth year, Dion has excelled throughout his apprenticeship, quickly becoming a hardworking and valued member of the team. He tackles problems head-on and takes great pride in seeing a job through to completion. His dedication and commitment to developing his skills have seen him make a significant impact during his apprenticeship.

Congratulations, Dion!🎉 

🌱 Newcomer of the Year Award 2026: Malcolm Davison, Consett

Since joining the consett team, Malcolm has made a significant and positive impact, helping to strengthen performance. Through his strong leadership and collaborative approach, Malcolm has delivered measurable results, including leading the team to achieve a 59% reduction in lost miles. His approachable nature and ability to bring people together make him a deserving winner.

Congratulations, Malcolm!🎉 

🔧 Engineer of the Year 2026: Tony Collins, National Express

Tony is incredibly dedicated to his role, with impressive technical expertise and commitment to improvement. He plays a key role in diagnosing and resolving complex faults, and his attention to detail helps to maintain high engineering standards. Always willing to help others, he takes great pride in his work every day while continuing to develop both his own skills and those of the engineers around him.

Congratulations, Tony! 🎉 

🚌 Driver of the Year 2026: Sarah Jones

Sarah has been with us for just over a year but she has already earned a reputation for being one of the company’s friendliest drivers who delivers exceptional customer service. Sarah’s positivity and cheerful nature hasn’t ge unnoticed – she’s received more than 30 commendations

Congratulations, Sarah!🎉 

⭐ Behind the Scenes Superstar 2026: Simon Rainer, Riverside

Simon has been a detailer at Go North East for 25 years, and after all this time he still loves his job – he likes helping people and nothing surprises him. Simon likes to make life as easy as possible for his colleagues, calmly working under pressure to arrange cover, support shift swaps and managing changing rotas. His approachable nature, positivity and willingness to help make him a great asset and deserving winner.

Congratulations, Simon!🎉 

🥇 The Team of the Year 2026: Sunderland Operations Supervisors

Sunderland’s Operations Supervisors have more than 130 years of service collectively. They provide support for colleagues and passengers, from the first bus out until the last bus returns to the depot each day. The team are known for their innovative solutions to problems, their sense of humour and for staying late to support colleagues who need a shoulder to lean on. Their manager Nathan describes them as ‘The A Team’ who are deserving winners.

Congratulations to the Operations Team at Sunderland! 🎉 

⭐ Lifetime Achievement

At this year’s Go.B.E’s, we made two very special awards for Lifetime Achievement, both having dedicated over 52 years of service at Go North East.

Billy Cummings, Saltmeadows

The first went to Billy, who began working at the company at just 16, after heading to Gateshead Depot straight after school one afternoon to apply for a job. Billy always wanted a practical tole but never expected to spend his whole career as a trimmer, making seats for thousands of both drivers and passengers. Looking back over the years, Billy has great memories of spending days covered in paint whilst laying bus floors, winning a Team of the Year Award back I 2008 and having a laugh with colleagues, especially Garry Bell and the late Jacky McCourt. Thank you, Billy, for your extraordinary commitment to Go North East.

Congratulations Billy! 🎉

John Jackson, Electrician

The second went to John Jackson, who unfortunately, couldn’t make the awards ceremony so we surprised him with a small gathering of all his colleagues to present him his award where he knows best, at Riverside depot.

John began his journey with us in April 1974 at Sunderland Road Depot. He was introduced to the industry by his brother who was a bus driver at the time. John says he was just happy to have found a job during a difficult period for employment. After completing his apprenticeship at Gateshead College, he qualified as a PCV electrician, thanks for his mentor and good friend, Georgie Johnson. Since then, John has mastered almost every generation of vehicle to come through the doors. From routemasters to today’s electric buses, his knowledge has grown with the industry. You truly deserve this Lifetime Achievement Award.

Congratulations John! 🎉

The evening was a memorable celebration of the brilliant employees we have here at Go North East, congratulating those who have gone above and beyond in their roles, inspiring us all to continue to strive for excellence.