Awards & Nominations

Aaron Lumsdon is Fix Radio's Stonemason of the Year for 2022!

Torbay Stone and Conservation are delighted to announce that on the evening of Wednesday May 4th 2022, company founder Aaron Lumsdon was named Stonemason of the Year by Fix Radio!

Held at UK Construction Week London, the awards recognised outstanding tradespeople from across a range of disciplines, meaning Aaron was very happy to even be nominated for the Stonemason of the Year award, and absolutely thrilled when he was named the outright winner.

Words From Mark Priestman - Director of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB):

Mark Priestman is a Director of a training consultancy whose mantra is: Qualify the Workforce! Here he congratulates one of his former trainees for winning an award.

I received a call from one of our past learners – Aaron Lumsdon. Aaron achieved his level 2 NVQ with us and was a learner on the CITB’s Specialist Applied-Skills Programme (SAP) in Façade Preservation. He proved himself to be exceptionally skilled in stone restoration, and he received our nomination for a programme award.

We’ve kept in contact with Aaron, and he’s done the same with us since he successfully achieved those qualifications.

At the time, Aaron worked for and was mentored by Stone Co Ltd, and then moved to Westcountry Stonemasons. In 2020, Aaron set up his own company, AJL Stonemasons (now known as Torbay Stone and Conservation).

So when he called with some great news, it came as no surprise to us. He explained he was both nominated for - and then presented with - the accolade of Fix Radio’s Stonemason of the Year Award.

Hearty congratulations from us all, Aaron!

I hope the award is an additional springboard to your already progressive journey in the Stonemasonry specialism. Best wishes for your future plans for developing your career.

Aaron’s success focused my thoughts again on the importance of setting personal goals for professional development.

I recall as soon as Aaron had completed one module, he was quizzing me over the contents of the next. Frequently he would send me photos of his work, which he took great pride in. He was always quick to gain experience from his work-based mentor on up-and-coming off-site training subjects and to ask questions about the work he was doing to make his training as relevant as possible.

During off-site training, following the giving of instruction and demonstration, we naturally wanted learners to have a go and eventually undertake practical tests. Aaron was always the first to say: “I’d like to have a go!”

What a great attitude. It’s the sort of enthusiasm we want to bottle for others on their journey.

Construction Training Academy Awards 2023 - Contractor of the Year (Shortlisted)