ANN Lee, chief executive of Bishop's Hull-based St Margaret’s Hospice, has been highly commended for her "determination, vision and belief" in the South West Institute of Directors regional director awards.

More than 100 people attended the ceremony in Bristol, celebrating outstanding business people in a number of sectors across the region.

Mrs Lee leads St Margaret’s, a charity with a £10 million turnover that cares for more than 3,200 people each year at its in-patient units in Bishop's Hull and Yeovil, as well as through its countywide community care team.

The organisation also operates 36 shops and a wide range of fundraising events and activities.

The judges were impressed by Mrs Lee’s approach to ensure commercial success in a complex and emotionally-charged arena.

The freshness of that approach, value given to team members and sheer hard work were also singled out.

She said: “After 16 years as director of nursing at St Margaret’s, I was extremely proud to be appointed chief executive last year.

"Since then, through the hard work of a fabulous workforce, including volunteers, our Taunton hospice has been identified as ‘outstanding’ in four out of five domains following a recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission – the first in the country to be awarded four ‘outstanding’ ratings.

“In addition, earlier this year we launched Fit for Future, a ground breaking review into the future delivery of palliative care in Somerset.

“I see this this award as recognition for the quality of care we provide and will continue to provide in the face of growing demands for end-of-life care, combined with cuts to funding."

As part of the County Gazette's 180th anniversary celebrations, we are appealing to readers to help raise £180,000 for St Margaret's through a series of events - and asking you to come up with ideas of your own to boost the appeal.