Barnsley Federation of Tenants and Residents Awards Night
Caption: Winners of the 2009 Barnsley Federation of Tenants and Residents Awards at the ceremony at Priory Campus.
Friday 23rd January was a night to remember as Barnsley Federation of Tenants and Residents held their first awards ceremony to celebrate the difference volunteering makes in our communities.
The event at Priory Campus, sponsored by Yorkshire Bank and Inspace Partnerships, was attended by over 90 people including staff and Board Directors from Berneslai Homes, staff from Inspace, Mayor Elect Councillor John and Mrs Parkinson, and Tenants and Residents Associations from across the borough (TARAs).
The awards were given to individuals and TARAs all of whom have demonstrated a commitment to making a difference in their communities.
Joan Daykin, a resident in Great Houghton, almost swept the board receiving three individual first prize awards and sharing two first prize awards with her Great Houghton TARA. Joan is an active member of her TARA and set up a luncheon club for residents at Sandhill Court. Her comments sum up the selfless attitude of all volunteers. She says, “I am just a small cog in a big wheel and everyone here is so deserving”.
Suzy Brain England, Chair of Berneslai Homes closed the event by saying,
“Your volunteering, campaigning and tireless efforts are helping to make Barnsley the best place to live, work and play.”
These awards will be an annual event. Barry McGowan, Chair of the Federation said, “The evening was a great success, it’s nice to see our volunteers coming together celebrating their achievements.”
The winners are listed below:
Tara of the Year (Sponsored by Inspace) - went to Great Houghton TARA for undertaking many activities both on a social scale and a strategic scale. Royston TARA received a highly commended award.
Good Neighbour award – went to Elsie Smith from Grimethorpe for working tirelessly for her community. Bev Saunders from Wombwell received the runner up award
Training Award – went to Elsie Smith from Grimethorpe for all completing a first aid course and for producing a booklet called “All’s well that ends well”. Joan Daykin from Great Houghton received the runner up award
Volunteer of the Year – went to Joan Daykin from Great Houghton, with a resident quoting “she is a friend to us all – our community would be lost without her”. Fred Harston from Royston received a Highly Commended award.
Including everyone – went to Barry McGowan from Hoyland for all his hard work in the community and for ensuring all his work and knowledge is filtered down to the wider community.
Campaigning Award – went to Royston TARA for all the hard work they have done around issues such as the closure of a local home. Harry Westley from Royston took the runner up award
Resident of the Year – went to Joan Daykin from Great Houghton for all the work she does in the community that touches many people’s lives. The runner up prize went to Mr & Mrs Stendall from Ardsley for the work they have done in the village.
Social Activities – winner went to Great Houghton Tara for putting activities on that are cross generational. The runner up prize went to Joan Daykin for all the events she organisies within her area.
Selling your Tara – went to Wombwell TARA for the production of a newsletter. The runner up went to Mr & Mrs Whitaker for all their hard work promoting their TARA.
Projects- went to Joan Daykin for setting up a lunch club at Sandhill Court that has made a difference to people’s quality of life. The runner up award went to Smithies TARA for the St Helens Well Project.
Fundraising- Smithies TARA for raising money for various projects over the last 10years for their local community including schools in their area. The runner up award went to Elsie Smith of Grimethorpe for raising funds for community groups in the Grimethorpe area.
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