Community Awards 2016
Local stars received richly deserved Community Awards at our annual event on 15th June.
More than 100 people came along to celebrate the outstanding work carried out across our area by grass roots grafters – and to surprise them with awards they had not been expecting.
The event, now in its third year, was attended by civic leaders, representatives of our partner organisations, and of course, members of the communities of Irlam, Cadishead and Rixton-with-Glazebrook.
“Our Community Awards are now an established and exciting part of HDT’s calendar and it’s very fulfilling to see people who do so much for so many receive the recognition they deserve. These are ordinary people who do extraordinary things to make our area a better place to live,work and enjoy. Not only do they make a real difference in the communities of Irlam, Cadishead and Rixton-with-Glazebrook, but they also inspire others to get involved,” Tony Prescott, HDT Operations Manager
Here’s a brief summary of the 2016 awards:
Anthony ‘Canis’ Campbell was especially deserving of his award which marked more than 15 years at Cadishead Sports JFC, 10 as a team manager before he became chairman five years ago. After starting out managing an U9s development team alongside Dave Wright, Canis went on to manage a very successful team from U9 level through to U16, which included football trips abroad and garnered much silverware along the way. As if this wasn’t enough, Canis has also helped to bring girls on board and always does everything he can for all the teams, committing time and passion, week in, week out.
Billy McLaughlin and Geoff Blackburn were recognised for their hard work and unstinting commitment to producing Irlam and Cadishead Times – a super magazine that continues to improve. They work as a highly effective team, providing excellent coverage of events, initiatives and issues that affect our community. Billy has been absolutely everywhere gathering news, while Geoff has worked diligently behind the scenes, putting it all together and selling the advertising space. They have been incredibly generous with their time, not to mention their marvellous photographs, and are true supporters of our community.
Cedric Atherton received his award in recognition of his tireless work to help prepare the Community Shop for business. During the last 18 months Cedric has performed a catalogue of tasks to help the smooth running of the shop. These include building shelving and insulating the container stores to house the expanding product lines; being on call every week to check in deliveries and help store stock; auditing sales to help determine future ordering; laying paving to ensure the shop’s surface area is safe for staff and volunteers; painting and maintaining inside and outside areas keeping them clean and tidy; and undertaking ‘deep cleaning’ tasks to ensure compliance with Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulations. On top of all this, Cedric has supported staff and volunteers in all the fundraising events. Throughout a challenging period, Cedric has demonstrated amazing patience and good humour. As a result, the systems he has created continue to work seamlessly and efficiently.
Mike Jenkins’ award was our way of thanking him for his contribution to Irlam and Cadishead Royal British Legion, of which he has been co-ordinator for more than six years. Having taken the baton from his grandad, Mike has done a superb job, devoting countless hours of support and passion to the organisation. Under his stewardship, annual funds raised have grown from £4,000 to a highly impressive £15,000. Mike also initiated the Lamppost Poppy project that saw 120 lampposts along Liverpool Road adorned with poppies last year. This project in Irlam and Cadishead was the most successful across the Royal British Legion.
Otto Malone’s award recognised the dedication and generosity of spirit he has demonstrated since February 2014 when he became Manchester 
United Foundation (MUF) hub officer for Irlam and Cadishead. During this period Otto drove forward our jointly-funded partnership with MUF to promote sports development in the 10 schools across our area, as well as positively affecting achievement, attainment and attitude to studies. Otto is likeable and inspirational, with HDT’s annual feedback from all schools showing consistently high provision and respect from the children. They have become extremely fond of him and nicknamed him the Pied Piper.
Ian and Lynn Taylor received an award for re-establishing FIRST (Friends of Irlam Railway Station) in May 2015. The couple played a pivotal role in reviving the group and were encouraged to take up the posts of secretary and chairman. In addition they organised the Christmas market event last year as well as the summer event to celebrate the Queen’s birthday. Under their leadership the station grounds have been enhanced by the planting and maintaining of planters, along with acquiring more bins for the station. On top of all of this, Ian and Lynn have supported every HDT community litter pick, while Ian has used his handyman skills to complete many and various tasks.
Warren Dodd, club secretary at Irlam FC was presented with his award for his crucial role in delivering a smart new clubhouse and car park, as well as overseeing promotion to the NWCL Premier Division at the end of 2016. Ably assisted by Ron Parker (Chairman) and John Maine (Team Manager), Warren displayed great tenacity, drive, and commitment to make the new facilities a reality. This often involved working weekdays and weekends, immense perseverance to get the funding in place, and an admirable ability to cope with many stressful situations. The end result is an absolute inspiration.
Warren Dodd, Irlam FC Club Secretary said: “It was a very nice and totally unexpected moment when I received a community star award from HDT at the annual get together. So many worthy people were gathered there on the evening, and they are all worthy of such recognition through their hard work on behalf of our community. When I was named among the group of people HDT were recognising this year I was genuinely shocked, but certainly delighted. I would dedicate the award to all the people at Irlam FC who work together to make the Club such a success.”
Local builder Mike Givens was presented with his award for making his skills available to numerous community group projects that needed help to build or renovate premises. To date, HDT have constructed, refurbished or improved more than 55 buildings. We simply wouldn’t have been able to do this without Mike’s experience and expertise. He is a real friend to HDT and his award was the very least we could do to recognise his major contribution to our communities.
“I think the Community Star Awards are so beautifully presented and so many unsung heroes rewarded. I was particularly pleased that the amazing Billy McLaughlin was awarded a Star as he provides some of the glue that keeps our community going – much like the late lamented Bob did in his own particularly quirky way.” Roger Lightup, Local Volunteer
Posted on: 20th June 2016