Pride in the Community Awards
In association with Pleasurewood Hills
“This evening is to celebrate and recognise all those special
unsung heroes and heroines in our community and gives us a chance
to recognise those people who would not necessarily make the headlines."
Russell Cook, Editor
IT was a night that will remain long in the memory as the unsung
heroes of the Lowestoft and Southwold area were honoured for their
achievements.
The inaugural Journal Pride in the Community Awards presentation
ceremony, in association with Pleasurewood Hills, was held at the
Wherry Hotel, Oulton Broad.
During the evening there were accounts of battles against adversary,
selfless dedication, and business expertise.
Throughout the evening there were bursts of spontaneous applause
as the invited guests were inspired by the nominated finalists.
The judging panel had an extremely difficult task in arriving at
the finalists as in previous weeks readers had nominated candidates
in all categories.
Journal editor Russell Cook welcomed the guests and finalists to
the evening and paid tribute to the area's “unsung heroes”.
“This evening is to celebrate and recognise all those special
unsung heroes and heroines in our community and gives us a chance
to recognise those people who would not necessarily make the headlines.
“Since we launched the awards we have been inundated with
nominations by our readers who know those people who deserve special
praise for the work they do - often behind the scenes and without
any thought of any reward,” he said.
More than 150 guests enjoyed a dinner provided by the staff of
the Wherry Hotel before Mr Cook and Yves Delhommeau, general manager
of Pleasurewood Hills, took to the stage to introduce the finalists
in each category and announce the winners.
Mr Cook was quick to point out there were no losers present on
the night.
“Every one of our finalists is a winner. In fact, all those
nominated are winners so you can imagine how difficult the task
has been to decide on who should top each particular category,”
he said.
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Community champion Janet Ellis receives her award from
Yves Delhommeau |
Mr Delhommeau said: “I am very proud to be invited here this
evening and be involved with the community awards. We at Pleasurewood
Hills are determined to play our full part in the community of Lowestoft
and surrounding area.”
The nine categories for the awards were: community hero, local
business of the year, kind neighbour of the year, remarkable person
of the year, entrepreneur of the year, teacher of the year, employee
of the year, where the heart is, and inspirational child of the
year. Finally, there was the community champion decided from all
the category winners.
This year the first community champion was Janet Ellis who has
been involved in fundraising for cancer charities over many years.
“I am honoured to have received this award but I would like
to pay tribute to everyone here tonight and all those who help in
the charity shop we run. Our success is very much a team effort,”
she said.
The large number of people prepared to work for the good of the
community is one of the area's most attractive features.
“Lowestoft and Southwold has so much to offer and the outstanding
number of individuals here has proved this,” said Mr Cook.
“We have been absolutely staggered by the community spirit
shown by our people and the quality of entries,” he said.
It is hoped that the Pride in the Community Awards will become
an annual event which celebrates people in the area who deserve
to be recognised.
ROLL OF HONOUR
Community Hero
Winner: Gwen Wicks and Ann Youngman.
Gwen and Ann have been raising money for various charities for
nearly 30 years totalling more than £100,000. They were nominated
by Terri Branch and Sean Nicholls.
Gwen said: “This is a great surprise but we are very honoured.”
Ann said: “We like to keep busy and want to say thank you
to everyone who supports us.”
Runners-up: John Holmes and Ron Bell.
Kind Neighbour
Winner: Nathan Earrye
Nathan was nominated by his sister Gina and while most 14-year-olds
are out with their friends Nathan dedicates most of his spare time
in caring for his elderly neighbour who lost his wife two years
ago. He now visits the man at least ten times a week and according
to Gina has “a heart of gold”.
Nathan said: “This award means a lot to me. I would like to
thank my mum and sister for all their help.”
Runners-up: Verd McSweeney and Margaret Barnes.
Entrepreneur of the year
Winner: Sophie Jackson
Sophie, who was nominated by Trudie Jackson, launched an online
history magazine aimed at adults but later adapted it when she realised
there was a lack of history resources for children. She was the
first winner of the Lowestoft Bright Sparks Award and was chosen
as an ambassador of the Make Your Mark campaign.
Sophie said: “I am really shocked. This is just great and
will inspire me to work to get the magazine into more schools.
“I would like to thank my mum and granddad who have supported
me through all the ups and downs.”
Runners-up: Trevor Lynn and Justin Smith.
Employee of the year
Winner: Angela Morton
Angela is a care worker who has worked as a carer at Abbeyfield
in Lowestoft for four years. She was nominated by A K Desborough
and Alan Morton who say that Angela is so dedicated to looking after
the elderly residents that she has worked 2,000 voluntary hours
on top of her paid hours. Her manager said: “She can make
the most unhappy person smile.”
Angela said: “I am really surprised to get this award. I enjoy
my work and am looking forward to continuing at Abbeyfield.”
Runner-up Louise Hunter.
Inspirational Child of the year
Winner: Jade Louise Cullen
Jade, 13, was nominated by her father Robert Hook. Jade has contended
with serious health problems since a very early age, suffering from
cystic fibrosis, epilepsy, liver disease and diabetes, and spends
much of her life in hospital. Despite this Jade remains cheerful
and her family are extremely proud of all she has achieved. Her
mother, Ann Marie calls Jade her “star”.
Jade said: “I would like to thank my family for always being
there for me. I am looking forward to being able to attend Benjamin
Britten High School in September.”
Runners-up: Ben McMillan and Chloe Goldson.
Local Business of the Year
Winner: Adam Greenfield, owner of Greenfield’s Wine Bar
and Café.
Since opening the premises in Surrey Street in July 2006 the business
has become a thriving establishment and a hive of activity for many
local people.
They were nominated anonymously.
Adam said: “I’d like to say a big thank you to all the
hard working staff. As a venue we’ve been open exactly a year
today, and I’d like to think we’d made a big impact
on Lowestoft town centre by bringing a bit of atmosphere into the
town. This award means a hell of a lot to me.”
Runners-up: Waveney Mow and Grow and the Aspire Centre
Remarkable Person of the Year
Winner: Joe Matthews.
Joe was a budding rugby player when he was struck down with a
serious heart condition, which resulted in him needing a heart transplant
while he was studying in California. His family spent months by
his hospital bed to aid his recovery and a huge fundraising campaign
was launched in Lowestoft to aid his treatment, resulting in more
than £20,000 being raised.
He was nominated by his grandfather Ray Waters
Joe said: “There’s lots of remarkable people in the
town – I just got the nomination, and this award means a lot.”
Runners-up: James and Eloise Exton-Markey and Ryan Holt.
Teacher of the Year
Winner: Des Reynolds.
In the past three years the assistant head of Benjamin Britten
High School has also undertaken pastoral work at the school with
responsibility for support and care of students. In the past 18
months this has taken on a national significance following the tragic
deaths of Daniel Felstead, Carla Took and sisters Claire and Jenny
Stoddart.
He was nominated by Trevor Osbourne.
Des said: “This award means a great deal. It represents not
only myself, but also a very large band of teachers at Benjamin
Britten High School and an awesome group of hard working pupils.”
Runners-up: Richard Turner and Stuart Went.
Where the Heart Is
Winner: Janet Ellis.
Described as “one of the kindest people you could wish to
meet” and “an absolute angel,” looking after other
people and supporting those in need just seems to be second nature
to Janet.
Janet was nominated by Chris and Barry Exton-Markey, Marjorie Thompson,
Liz Dack, Zoiyar Cole, Mary Clayton, Helen Todd, E B Marjoram, Lorna
Podd and Chris Eyers.
Janet said: “This award should be shared with Zoiyar and all
the other ladies and gentleman who work in our shop – thank
you very much. All of those that work for us give their time freely
– and I just enjoy going that extra mile to help out.”
Runners-up: Zoiyar Cole and Mary Edwards.
Community Champion
Winner: Janet Ellis.
Lowestoft and Southwold has so much to offer and this has been
proven by the outstanding number of entries received but this champion
is the person, who in the view of Journal readers and the judges,
stands out from everyone else.
Janet said: “I can’t believe it. I just wish I could
share it with everyone else involved. I have thoroughly enjoyed
tonight and I’m really lucky to be part of it all –
seeing all these other people who are doing wonderful things as
well.”
Our sponsors: Pleasurewood Hills
Our sponsors Pleasurewood Hills, which was established in the early
1980s, is proud of the region's heritage and sees the importance
of passion and commitment to the local community in which it operates.
It's this passion for the community which forms the essence of
these awards.
Yves Delhommeau, general manager at the park in Leisure Way said:
“We are delighted at the opportunity to play a progressive
role in helping to develop the Pride in the Community Awards and
look forward to meeting and celebrating with some wonderful people
along the way.”
The region's premier theme park is well placed to put its name
alongside these prestigious awards.
It has ambitious plans to develop the park for the future and relies
heavily on its employee's (over 150 staff at peak season) to go
the extra mile in ensuring every visitor's experience is a special
one. The park also supports many local businesses who supply a range
of goods and materials and this commitment to the economy and the
people that live and work in the area will provide genuine value
to the awards.