Some of the hardest working and most effective volunteers came together for a ceremony to recognise the excellence of their work in the first ever Huntingdonshire Volunteer Awards Ceremony.
Held at the Priory Centre, St Neots over 100 people attended the event, the idea of Councillor Mrs Deborah Reynolds whose executive councillor responsibility includes the voluntary sector in Huntingdonshire.
Together with staff in the district council’s community team, residents of Huntingdonshire were able to nominate the person or team they felt deserve special recognition for their voluntary work. A panel of four judges, Mike Cartwright, BBC East presenter; Andy Veale, Editor of the Hunts Post; David Morgan, Chairman of Hunts Forum for Voluntary Organisations; and Councillor Mrs Reynolds had the very difficult task of deciding who were the winners.
The awards ceremony was officially opened by Councillor Phillip Swales, chairman of the council and was hosted by Dan Smith, community manager. The judges were then invited to present the awards. The evening included first-class entertainment from local community arts groups; Stageworks art and drama group, Huntingdonshire Music School Woodwind Ensemble and Vocal Academy, Barbershop Chorus.
There were seven winners, each of whom received a framed certificate and a piece of cut glass to mark their achievement. The winners were:
Ann Thompson in the commitment category for her work at Ramsey Volunteer Centre, Professor Ray Mathews in the Impact category for his work at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, the Patch team in the Innovation category for their work at the Commemoration Hall, Huntingdon, Mr and Mrs Jackson of Ramsey in the Inspiration category for a range of different work in Ramsey and Norma Flowers and Yvonne Sanders in the Partnership category for the Library Doorstop service.
In addition, two special awards were presented. Young Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Alice Bullock for her work with a range of groups in the Bluntisham area, while a Lifetime Achievement went to Sheelagh White for her lifelong approach to helping others in St Neots, particularly the 20 year long Holidays at Home Scheme for children.
Commenting on the evening Dan Smith said: “Volunteering is an integral part of our society. Without it we would lose the essence of community - that is giving something of ourselves with no expectation of reward. Everyone present at the awards ceremony knows that and we hope we have recognised that contribution by making the awards.”
Speaking after the event, the Young Volunteer of the Year, Alice Bullock said ' Winning this award, is absolutely amazing! I can't say thank you enough. Finally, we are being recognized for what we are doing! I love seeing the results from the volunteering! It is a great buzz; I would recommend more people to start!’