The wait is almost over for a group of local heroes from West Dunbartonshire who have been named as finalists in this year’s Provost Civic Awards.
The ceremony is being held in person for the first time since the pandemic broke out at Clydebank Town Hall tomorrow night and will allow guests to celebrate the achievements of the finalists and thank them for their contribution to the community.
Members of the public were encouraged to put forward individuals or groups they felt made a difference to improving the area and the lives of people who live in West Dunbartonshire.
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The esteemed list includes committed volunteers, up and coming musicians using their platform to support young people’s mental health and a local firefighter going above and beyond to make young kid’s dreams come true.
Available awards include the arts and culture champion, sports champion, community/voluntary champions team, community/voluntary champion individual, and the youth champion.
Among those nominated are Lottie Barker, who set up community art organisation Clifftop Projects to making the arts accessible to all regardless of age, ability or personal circumstances.
And also up for an award is Jack Smyth, who didn’t let his disability, or bullies, stand in his way as he learned welding skills and set up his art business Salvaged Metal Arts and Just The Brave, a four-piece boy band who are touring schools and using their own experiences to raise awareness around mental health and bullying with young people are the finalists for the arts and culture champion award.
Other nominees include Karen Nicoll, who gives her time as a guide runner for a local visually impaired schoolgirl and was instrumental in the creation of West Dunbartonshire’s first junior park run; John Joyce, who has given more than four years of his time volunteering his time in youth football and Stewart Smillie, head coach at Alexandria Kickboxing Academy who alongside producing world champions also promotes mental well-being and confidence sessions for children are the finalists for the sports champion award.
In the running to win the community/voluntary champions team is Lomond Radio, run by a team of more than 40 volunteers with the aim of entertaining and informing the local community.
Also nominated is the Let’s Make a House a Home team which was set up by local couple Des and Louise McFarlane with inspiration from their nephew during the pandemic to provide a link between those most in need and residents looking to re-home their unwanted goods.
The final nominee in this category is Bags Full of Love was set up by foster carers Fiona and Leigh Ann Hennebry to provide children moving into foster care, who frequently have none of their own belongings, with a backpack full of supplies to call their own - including clothing, toys and toiletries.
The three nominees for voluntary champion include Kirsty Campbell who set up Daniel’s wish after her experiences with her son Daniel led her to spot a gap in the support for children and families dealing with complex needs in West Dunbartonshire.
After finding himself in a wheelchair suddenly and with no idea how to access support, Kevin Crawford set up the Big Disability Group to provide a support network for people in a similar situation while Colin Hay is the driving force behind the Linnvale Community Group, volunteering his time to encourage ideas to improve the area including organising litter picks and a successful community Gala Day.
At the conclusion of the event, Provost Douglas McAllister will also announce the overall winner who will receive the Citizen of the Year award, sponsored by CCG.
Speaking ahead of the event, Provost McAllister said: “Every single nomination received was deserving of praise and reading through them, I was extremely proud that West Dunbartonshire is home to so many different fantastic people and organisations who go above and beyond every day.
“They each have gone above and beyond to help someone else, in some cases devoting hundreds of hours of their own time to improve the lives of others and make a real difference in our communities.
“Everyone who was nominated for this year’s awards should be immensely proud of themselves and I would like to extend my thanks to every resident who took the time to highlight these exceptional people, even if they did make my task as one of the judges a very difficult one. I’m very much looking forward to meeting each of our finalists in person.”
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