WINNERS of this year’s Suffolk Community Awards were crowned last night (Tuesday 24th SEPTEMBER) in a ceremony at Stowmarket’s Food Museum.
Individuals, teams, groups, charities and communities were honoured and applauded, in an occasion jointly staged by Community Action Suffolk, Suffolk County Council and Suffolk Association of Local Councils.
A total of 15 awards were presented on the night, following a summer of judging which saw an impressive 163 nominations painstakingly assessed by representatives from the trio of organising bodies.
The Awards were presented by well known Suffolk broadcaster Mark Murphy MBE who said “I’ve hosted all sorts of events over the years, but this is one of my favourites. It’s so great to see what groups and individuals do to improve their own community. They are a real inspiration”
The accolades were collated into five different categories on the night – CAS Community Awards, SALC council awards, CAS Children and Young People Awards, Suffolk’s Most Active Community Awards, and CAS Volunteering Awards.
The awards highlighted the breadth of community action in Suffolk from individual volunteers, young people, councils, faith groups and more.
Presented with the Anne Dunford OBE Award this year was Lofty Heights Skills Academy. A fantastic project which works with young people aged 16-24 who are not in education or employment to flourish by taking part in community projects.
The worthy winners of this year’s Roddy Macleod Award were Ipswich based Youth Zone. The award recognises the Suffolk youth club of the year. Youth Zone offers so much more than a place to gather, their youth club supports young people to build communications skills, confidence and learn day to day skills. All facilitated by the passion of individual volunteers.
The Colonel Probert Award for a Voluntary Group or Community was presented to BME Suffolk Support Group. After receiving multiple nominations, it was clear that the group do excellent work for minority communities in Suffolk. They offer a wealth of support and information from food banks to help with form filling.
Mark Knight received the Clerk of the Year Award. Mark impressed the judges with his leadership during the Covid pandemic, even spending his New Year’s Eve negotiating with the NHS for the first delivery of the vaccine for the Mildenhall Jubilee Centre.
Mark was recognised for always looking for new and innovative ways for the council to operate for the benefit of the community.
Most Active Village went to Walsham le Willows, whilst Kesgrave was crowned as Most Active Town. This award was presented by Councillor Liz Harsant, Chairman of Suffolk County Council.
Meanwhile, the Suffolk Good Neighbour Award was presented to Horringer GNS which do a fantastic job supporting people to tackle loneliness and isolation and offer a befriending service.
The full list of winners are as follows:
CAS Community Awards
Colonel Probert Award
Winner: BME Suffolk
Presented by Geoffrey Probert
Ian Campbell MBE Award
Winner: Zoe Mair
Presented by Ian Campbell MBE
Village Hall & Community Building Award
Sponsored by Business Services at Community Action Suffolk
Winner: Felsham & Gedding Community Store
Presented by Judith Shallow DL
The Faith Award
Winner: Just 42
Presented by Tim Holder on behalf of Rt Revd Martin Seeley, Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
SALC Council Awards Sponsored by West Suffolk Council, East Suffolk Council, Babergh District Council, Mid Suffolk District Council and Cloudy IT
Clerk of the Year
Winner: Mark Knight Highly, Commended: Odile Wladon and Al Besly
Presented by Cllr Seamus Bennett, East Suffolk Council, Cllr Daniel Potter, Babergh & Mid Suffolk Councils and Cllr Donna Higgins, West Suffolk Council
Councillor of the Year
Winner: David Hepper
Presented by Sir Edward Greenwell BART, President, Lesley Beevor, Board Member and Rhys Jarvis, Board Member, Suffolk Association of Local Councils
Council of the Year
Winner: Southwold Town Council
Highly commended: Mildenhall High Town Council
Presented by Sally Longmate, SALC CEO and Tina Cunnell,Cloudy IT
CAS Children & Young People Awards
Andrew Towers Award
Winners: Millie Barber, Harrison Mayhew Kemp
Presented by Norman & Glenys Towers
Roddy Macleod Award
Winner: Youth Zone – Lisa Clarke
Presented by Hector Macleod
Anne Dunford OBE Award
Winner: Lofty Heights Skills Academy
Presented by Chris Dunford
Suffolk’s Most Active Community Awards
Most Active Village
Winner: Walsham le Willows
Presented by Cllr Philip Faircloth-Mutton, Cabinet Member for Environment, Communities and Equality, Suffolk County Council
Most Active Town
Winner: Kesgrave
Presented by Cllr Liz Harsant, Chairman of Suffolk County Council
CAS Volunteering Awards
Suffolk Good Neighbour Award
Sponsored by Suffolk Community Foundation
Winner: Horringer GNS
Presented by Hannah Bloom
Event Organiser of the Year
Sponsored by Larking Gowen
Winner: Stacey Phillips – Homestart Suffolk
Presented Hannah Stewart and Lee Robinson
Outstanding Contribution to Volunteering Award
Sponsored by Kerseys Solicitors
Winner: Abi Abidoye
Presented by Jane Riley and Matthew Clemence
Hannah Reid, Chief Executive of Community Action Suffolk, said: “These awards are always such a special occasion for us at CAS, not least because they shine a spotlight on the incredible work of groups and individual volunteers who really do so much for our communities behind the scenes. It was lovely to celebrate with them”
