31 Oct 2025
BVNA president Sarah Holliday hailed the “inspiring individuals” who collected the awards.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Lauryn Read took home the Veterinary Nursing Journal Writer of the Year Award.
The BVNA held its annual awards at its 2025 Congress, celebrating inspiring veterinary nurses and colleagues for their contributions to the profession.
The association celebrated its 60th anniversary at its annual congress, held from 10 to 12 October at Telford International Centre, one of the highlights of which was its awards ceremony.
Karen Hatton took home the Jean Turner Award as RVN of the Year.
Nominated by her friends and colleagues, Miss Hatton was described as one of the profession’s most dedicated nurses and hailed for contributing ideas to improve her practice and better support colleagues and patients.
Sophie Barnes was named SVN of the Year after being nominated by a colleague for being “an amazing student and person” and “always positive and a joy to be around”.
She is undertaking VN training after self-funding her way through a VCA course while volunteering in practice and retaking her GCSEs.
She was presented with the Jennifer Townson Award, named after the inaugural BVNA chairperson and one of the first Registered Animal Nursing Auxiliaries, by Jennifer’s granddaughter, Vet Times’ Emma Townson.
The Des Thompson Award for Veterinary Team Member of the Year went to Carla England of Wildlife Rescue for giving up her own time to create and run CPD classes specifically for vet nurses.
Earlier this year, she was named as the CPD Champion for 2024 at the second annual SQP Congress , having logged 20 times the required number of hours.
Lauryn Read took home the Veterinary Nursing Journal Writer of the Year Award for her June article “Caring for those who care for animals”, raising awareness of mental health within the profession.
BVNA president Sarah Holliday said: “In BVNA’s 60th year, we were especially delighted to celebrate these inspiring individuals, showcasing their contributions to the veterinary nursing profession and their teams.”
She thanked all who had submitted nominations for the award categories, adding: “I would also like to congratulate all of the deserving winners and finalists across all of our awards.
“All should feel exceptionally proud that their dedication to the veterinary nursing profession has been recognised by those around them.”
