JULIE Wilson has been described as many things, including the glue that holds everyone in place.

She is a formidable organiser, the source of all knowledge in the office and a shoulder to cry on. It is no wonder she has just been named Incredible Colleague of the Year at the Women in Business Awards.

She also took the Woman of Achievement title - not bad for someone who insisted she was only doing her job.

She is events co-ordinator for Northumbrian Water, based at Pity Me, near Durham. She is equally at home organising a council visit to a company site or a fundraising ball for hundreds of guests, and her commitment extends far beyond the nine to five.

She is known in the office as someone who is always willing to go the extra mile.

She said she was amazed when she won the Incredible Colleague of the Year Award.

She said: "People talk about being gobsmacked and I really was. When I heard about the other people who had been nominated, I did not think I had a chance.

"A lot of them had overcome some serious difficulties. As far as I was concerned, I was just doing my job."

She was just recovering from the shock of winning her first award when she was called on stage again and named Woman Achiever of the Year - the overall winner.

In typically modest fashion, she paid tribute to her colleagues.

She said: "I work with a great team. We work hard, but we have a laugh and that is what makes the difference. I could not do any of it without them."

Ms Wilson, 39, has worked for Northumbrian Water for 20 years, following jobs at Sunderland Health Authority and Sunderland Polytechnic.

When she joined the company, it was still Sunderland and South Shields Water, and she started in the purchasing department before she moved into human resources and then communications.

Before the formation of Northumbrian Water from smaller, local companies in 1996, there was no official public relations department, and Ms Wilson organised events in addition to her day-to-day responsibilities.

She is now officially responsible for event management, but deals with many other areas beyond her job, often in her spare time.

According to colleagues, her phone never stops ringing. If anyone has a query or needs help, she is the first person they turn to. "She is the cog in the wheel that makes the organisation turn," they said when they nominated her for the award.

She admits to being "a bit of a control freak" but it is her attention to detail that makes her such a success. There is very little she does not know about the company.

As regional secretary of the charity WaterAid, she was one of the driving forces behind the successful £1m fundraising campaign that has saved the lives of 100,000 people in the developing world.

She is involved in everything from collecting £1 donations from colleagues to organising major fundraising events, and is often in the office long after everyone else has gone home.

It leaves her with little spare time, but when she does get a moment, she enjoys going to the theatre and cinema. She lives in Sunderland, only a stone's throw from the beach, where she often goes for long walks.

She is secretary of the Institution of Water Officers - an organisation of water industry employees - attending and organising meetings in her spare time, and plays a vital role in bringing employees together socially as secretary of the Northumbrian Water Sports and Social Forum.

In her post since 1996, she has organised countless events such as barbecues and parties. She is also a key figure for those who have left Northumbrian Water, arranging social activities for the Pensioners' Association.

The staff at Ryhope Engines Museum are particularly grateful for her contribution and the link she provides with the company. She regularly works as a volunteer in the tea room and without her, the other volunteers do not think they would have survived.

Passionate and enthusiastic about everything she does, she said the key to her success was the job itself.

She said: "I love what I do and that is half the battle. I think it is the variety. No two days are ever alike and it is brilliant.

"I never know what I am going to be doing.

"It might just be helping a little girl with some information for her school project, but it is all worthwhile."

Northumbrian Water's managing director, John Cuthbert, summed it up on the nomination form. "Every company needs a Julie - a heart that beats through every corridor of every building that can reach out to someone wherever they are - the next desk or a field in the middle of nowhere.

"We are so fortunate that we have ours.