Pride in Easington Award winners announced

East Durham’s unsung heroes are celebrating after being honoured at the second annual Pride in Easington awards last night.

Organised by District of Easington Council, the awards recognise the achievements of individuals and groups across the district who have given their own time to improve quality of life for themselves and others.

They were presented during a ceremony at Shotton Hall Banqueting Suite, with the winners selected from a shortlist of nominees.

Coun George Patterson, Chairman of the Pride in Easington steering group, said: “The Pride in Easington awards make me proud of all the people who live in our district who do such wonderful work in the community, often to help those less able than themselves.

“We had more than 50 nominations this year, and every single one deserves a pat on the back for their hard work – there really are no losers, only winners.”

Among the awards handed out was the David Pattison Achiever of the Year prize, named in honour of the 19-year-old disabled rights champion from Seaham, who died in May 2007.

The full list of winners is below:

· Pride in Easington Chairman’s Award for Volunteer of the Year Under 18: Stephanie Mason, 17, from Blackhall. College student Stephanie donates most of her free time to helping others, volunteering at her local youth club and at a care facility for young people with special needs. She is also an active member of District of Easington Youth Forum.

· Volunteer of the Year Over 18: Jean Dixon MBE.
After discovering her baby daughter Lisa had brain damage, Jean set up her own help group which eventually led to the formation of Haswell and District MENCAP. Last year saw the opening of the charity’s purpose-built Lisa Dixon Centre.

· Environmental Award: Coast and Countryside Volunteer Rangers.
The 36-strong team of volunteer rangers take part in a variety of environmental projects from litter picking to planting trees. Successful projects include the creation of a woodland education area for schoolchildren and the transplanting of threatened orchids from a development site.

· Group of the Year: Dawdon Adventure Club.
Launched five years ago, the club offers children aged from five to 16-years-old from a variety of backgrounds the chance to take part in sports and social activities. The club has 158 registered members who have also helped raise in excess of £5,000 for good causes through a series of sponsored events.

· Youth Group of the Year: Dene Team Conservation Group.
Preserving native plant varieties, collating information for environmental studies and maintaining paths and fences are just some of the tasks undertaken by the young members of the dene team, who are aged between 11 and 16-years old.

· Tidy Ted Award: Dene House Primary, Peterlee.
While their classmates were enjoying playtime, a small group of pupils agreed to give up their free time to learn about the environment. Although some of the children have behavioural problems all seven demonstrated outstanding commitment to the six-month project.

· Environmental Business Award: Mitchells Bar, Seaham.
Managers and staff at the bar and restaurant have helped restore a sense of community pride to the Westlea area through their commitment to improving its appearance and helping good causes.

· David Pattison Achiever of the Year/Against the Odds Award: Thomas Jackson, 15, Wheatley Hill.
Thomas, who suffers from quad spastic cerebral palsy, is a keen sportsman, participating in power chair rugby, power chair football and boccia. He qualified for the Disability Sports Event national boccia finals two years running and was selected to attend the Cerebral Palsy sports open day in Nottingham.

This year’s awards ceremony is being sponsored by MetroMail, Easington Community Safety Partnership, Peterlee Town Council, East Durham Local Strategic Partnership, District of Easington Youth Forum and Dalton Park.

Pride in Easington is a long-term campaign to improve quality of life in the district by creating a cleaner, greener environment, tackling anti-social behaviour, celebrating success and involving communities.