Published: Monday, 3rd July 2017
It was a ‘ten from Len’ all round for volunteers and community groups as former ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ head judge, Len Goodman presented local heroes with awards for their important work.
Sevenoaks District Council brought back the Community and Voluntary ‘Making It Happen’ awards for a third year as 10 winners chosen from numerous entries picked up their awards at The Stag Theatre on 14 June.
Len Goodman joined fellow well-known District locals to present awards including ‘The Apprentice’ contestant JD O’Brien as individuals and groups were recognised for their work before an audience of almost 200 people.
The audience was also treated to a performance from the Rock Choir after the interval who belted out classics such as ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and ‘Living On A Prayer’ to open up the second half.
Presentations were made for winners and highly commended and all other nominees received a framed certificate.
Edward Oatley from Sevenoaks took home the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award presented by Len Goodman and was praised for over 25 years of dedication to sports development with hundreds, if not thousands of young people getting into sport under his guidance.
Also taking home a trophy was Lewis Morris from Swanley who won the Young Volunteer award for his work volunteering at Swanley Youth Hub as well as being the Co-Chair of Swanley Youth Forum.
The ECTtreme Youth Club were another winner as they collected the Charity Project of the Year award for their work with young people in Edenbridge and their project in Tijuana in Mexico helping to build a home for a local family.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Best Business – Fahim’s Restaurant in Swanley.
Best Family Friendly Business – Sevenoaks Bookshop and Waitrose, Sevenoaks Branch.
Charity of the Year – Sevenoaks Community First Responders.
Charity Project of the year – ECTreme Youth Club, Edenbridge
Best Community Club – Sevenoaks Volunteer Transport Group.
Community Safety – Charlie McCready, Brasted Speedwatch.
Individual Community Champion - Stephanie Harrison.
Lifetime Achievement - Edward Oatley.
Sport Health and Wellbeing – Sevenoaks Archery Club.
Young Volunteer Award – Lewis Morris.
Leader of the Council, Cllr Peter Fleming, was one of the judges on the panel and also hosted the evening, says: “Yet again the calibre of the nominations was so high it made the judges’ job very difficult. We as a Council are passionate and proud to celebrate the work that is done by all volunteers who work tirelessly across the District.
“Congratulations once again to all our winners and nominees on the night and we hope their incredible work can inspire others to follow in their footsteps.”
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