Judith Butcher Award

Kathleen Lyle has been a generous supporter of the CIEP and our members since the start. She has distinguished herself by attending every Society conference over the past 31 years. Crucially, she shares her wealth of knowledge and experience freely with members and others, especially via our online forums, even when the question has been asked many times before by those new to the profession! That's learning you don't get from textbooks or courses.

Members will know Louise Harnby's blog 'The Proofreader's Parlour' and 'her ongoing support of all proofreaders and editors, through her free provision of PDF stamps, the vast array of resources available freely on her website and also … her books'. These 'are the most visible of many efforts on behalf of members, as are her always thoughtful, thorough and polite posts on CIEP forums'. She sets 'a great example by showing us how best to market an editorial business'.

Rod has been a driving force within the CIEP ever since he joined in the mid-1990s: on the committee from 2001 to 2003, developing and maintaining the Institute's website and its online Directory, and moderating SfEPLine, the precursor to the Institute's forum. As well as these activities, Rod has been the official proofreader for Editing Matters and its predecessor CopyRight for the past 12 years. He has used his long experience of the CIEP by working voluntarily in and eventually heading the Membership Working Group and the Futures Group, leading the many hours of research, thinking and work that led to the new membership arrangements.

His energy seems boundless and his research is thorough. He is not afraid of challenging received ideas or of having his own ideas challenged; he enthusiastically explores new ones, and is dedicated to seeing a task through once he's taken it on. He's also a key member of the Linnets (the CIEP's informal choir), and flew the flag for editors on the TV quiz Only Connect.

Averill Buchanan is described as ‘the driving force behind the Northern Ireland CIEP local group’, and was nominated for ‘organising training courses in Northern Ireland, encouraging local editors to attend these courses (and to join the CIEP) and using her social media profile to spread the word about the CIEP’. As well as running the Northern Ireland group, Averill set up and jointly ran the Institute's Twitter account and later organised a team of Twitter volunteers. She also served as moderator on the CIEP forum.

Helen won the Award for significantly raising the national and international profile of the CIEP, and the work of editors and proofreaders in general, through her voluntary work on social media. While managing her team of volunteers with charm and understanding, she organises material to ensure good-quality posts and makes herself available at all hours to reply to comments and ensure that posts are appropriate.

Lesley Ward is perhaps best known as a tutor, and has often been the first member of the CIEP whom newcomers meet, through the training courses she runs. Her guiding hand has set them on their way with renewed confidence.