A social care pioneer from Wrexham has been honoured by the Welsh Government.
Mario Kreft received a special Recognising Achievement award from First Minister Carwyn Jones during a ceremony at Ruthin Castle, in Ruthin.
He was one of 20 recipients who were recognised for their innovative work in health and social care.
According to Mario, who was accompanied by his wife, Gill, it was a “wonderful occasion” that he will never forget.
Last year he was awarded the MBE as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition of his services to social care.
He is the Chair and a founder member of the independent care providers’ representative body, Care Forum Wales, and proprietor of the award-winning care organisation, Pendine Park.
One of his proudest achievements was founding the Wales Care Awards which celebrates the skill and dedication of the unsung heroes and heroines of social care. The event will be celebrating its 10th anniversary next year.
Mario’s MBE coincided with the 25th anniversary of Pendine Park and the opening of a new centre of excellence, called Bodlondeb (place of contentment) to look after people with dementia at their main site in Wrexham.
It was officially opened by the First Minister who described Bodlondeb as “a wonderful place”.
Now, there are also plans in the pipeline for a similar, £5 million centre in Caernarfon which will create more than 100 new jobs if it’s given the green light by planners.
Among the first to congratulate Mario was Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths, who is also the Health Minister.
She said: “I am delighted Mario’s hard work, determination and commitment has been recognised in this way.
“I know he will say this honour is a team award but every team needs a leader and he always leads from the front and is very deserving of this accolade.”
Mario said: “The Achievement Award is recognition of the huge contribution of social care in communities right across Wales, including the teams at Care Forum Wales and Pendine Park.
“It’s a huge team approach and it’s a reward for all the work that we’ve been doing together over the years to raise standards in social care and to promote the profession of social care.
“The ceremony at Ruthin Castle wonderful occasion. As everybody knows, these things are never really just an individual thing, Gill has been a pillar of support throughout.
“I am also eternally grateful for the support I receive from the staff at Pendine Park and Care Forum Wales.
According to Mario, the values he learned from his grandparents still provide his “guiding light”.
Bodlondeb is dedicated to his grandmother who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease in later life and the centre is named after his grandparents’ home in St Asaph Street, Rhyl.
“As a child, my grandparents often brought me to Ruthin Castle for Sunday dinner and we once had Christmas dinner here so today has brought back some happy memories,” he added
First Minister Carwyn Jones said: “There are people at today’s event who have made a tremendous contribution to Health and Social Care in Wales, and it is an honour to present the Recognising Achievement awards to them.
“This is the third year of the awards and I can say without hesitation that the people whom I have presented these awards to, and the stories they have to tell, make me proud of Wales. At the same time I know that there will always be many more people who deserve recognition than we can ever hope to cover.
“This is an opportunity of us to say thank you on behalf of all those who have benefited from the tireless work and dedication of those who are being honoured here. It is a privilege to be able to celebrate the success of those honoured here today.”
