The awards are to celebrate those who have made an outstanding contribution to the community and to improving the quality of life for others by giving their time, support and care.

We had a fantastic response in this first year of the Awards and received over 75 nominations.  The judging panel of Cllr Lady Newton, Chairman of the Council; Cllr Jo Beavis and Mr George Courtauld have therefore decided to award 2 prizes in each category and, at the Chairman’s discretion, this year, there will also be a special Chairman’s Award.

On Thursday 15th January 2009, the 7 winners were presented their award at the Chairman's Reception, which took place at Gosfield Hall.

The event was also attended by The Lord Lieutenant, Lord Petre; The High Sheriff, Sarah Courage, Rt. Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst, MP and Brooks Newmark, MP as well as other dignatories.

Below is a picture of all the winners receiving their certificate from the Chairman of the Council, Councillor Lady Newton and Councillor JoBeavis, Cabinet Member for Customers & Communication.  
  

The winners are:
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Young Person (11-17)

Melissa Finch (13) (nominated by Marina Metson). Raising money for the local branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society

Katie Gibson (16) (nominated by Katy Leeds). Gives up her time to help children with disabilities
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Contribution to the Environment and Conservation (young person or adult)

Dr. Ronald Green (nominated by Adrian Corder-Birch). Dedicated to all aspects of conservation and to the improvement of the environment in Sible Hedingham and the surrounding area.

Keith Newbitt (nominated by Annie Northfield). A huge contribution to the community by his unstinting work on the River Walk and Whetmead in Witham.
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Contribution by an individual to a voluntary body or to the community (18 and over)

Bill Norman (nominated by John Pearce). Immense contribution over 20 years to the community life of Wethersfield.

Georgie Roy (nominated by Bob Waters, Eileen Wigley, Pamela Payne). Worked tirelessly at fund raising for local charitable
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Chairman’s Award

Tony Parish (nominated by Janice Shwky). Over the past 30 years has worked to improve the quality of life of many residents within the wider Braintree community.
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The Chairman of the Council, Councillor Lady Newton said “The scale of the response took us by surprise which demonstrates how many people generously give their time to make life better for others.  We are indeed fortunate to have such people living in our District and they all deserve to be winners.”

Councillor Jo Beavis, Cabinet Member for Customers & Communication, added “The quantity and qualities of all nominations made judging extremely difficult. They are all winners and true champions within their communities but we finally picked the winners and I look forward to meeting them at the Chairman’s Reception.  Thanks to everyone who sent in nominations as each nomination gave us a greater understanding of the communities in the Braintree District.”