3/1 To Win
Over 200 people were in attendance at Pride Park Stadium last night for the first-ever Derby County Community Trust Awards evening.
It was an evening filled with celebration, elation and even at times, emotion, as the Community Trust showcased the work that they have done throughout the local community over the past year.
Staff, partners and associates of the Community Trust made up the audience, along with Executive Chairman Mel Morris, Manager Gary Rowett and Club Ambassadors Roy McFarland, Michael Johnson and Marc Edworthy.
The night started with a warm welcome from Head of Community Simon Carnall, before guests sat down to a three-course meal. Awards were interspersed between courses, giving staff and special guest the chance to showcase the fantastic work of winners over the past year.
Videos, photos and special presentations were shown throughout to expand on each award, giving the audience more of an insight into the hard work that takes place on a day to day basis for all involved with the Trust.
One highlight included a personal story from Club Ambassador Michael Johnson on how the Community Trust had affected him and his family in recent times.
Manager Gary Rowett and Executive Chairman Mel Morris both spoke of the importance of the football club being a part of the community; highlighting the fantastic work of the Community Trust.
Rowett said: “Listening to some of the stories, we’ve heard that the Community Trust work with kids from the age of three up to having activities for 98-year-olds. It just shows the vast spectrum of things a football club can affect and the community trust is a massive part of that.
“I’ve lived in the community for 23 years now and have seen first-hand how some of those projects can really help people and make this city an inclusive one.”
He added: “A football club gets judged based on results in terms of how successful it is but I think sometimes you have to look past that as well and see the good work that goes on behind the scenes by these kind of people, some amazing projects that are really quite inspiring.”
Head of the Community Simon Carnall said: “The Community Trust is all about using and utilising the brand of the football club to improve people’s lives. This is a football city and county with Derby County Football Club right at the heart of it. We are absolutely privileged to work at a football club that gets the role it has in the local community.
“Through the awards, we wanted to show people what we do. All the winners have equally incredible stories and we hope people leave here and not only think ‘wow, that’s what they do’ but also think about how they could help us by linking in with our network, potentially funding some of the work or becoming advocates of the Community Trust.”
AWARD WINNERS
AWARD WINNER 1 | Community Champion, presented by Simon Carnall, Head of Community at Derby County Community Trust – Winner was Neil Bennett
AWARD WINNER 2 | Disability Champion, presented by Derby County manager Gary Rowett – winner was Holbrook School for Autism
AWARD WINNER 3 | Health Champion, presented by Derby County Ambassador Michael Johnson – winner was Marek Hyde.
AWARD WINNER 4 | Inclusion Champion, presented by Ewa Van De Schootbrugge and Vanessa Thomas from Metropolitan – winner was Jonah Anderson.
AWARD WINNER 5 | Premier League Primary Stars Champion, presented by Derby County Ambassador Marc Edworthy – winner was Milford Primary School.
AWARD WINNER 6 | Education Champion, presented by Emma Hibbert from Bowmer and Kirkland – winner was Thomas Hodges.
AWARD WINNER 7 | Programme of the Year, presented by Community Manager Paul Newman – winner was Active Choices.
AWARD WINNER 8 | Derby City SSP Champion, presented by Adam Brown from TTS – winner was Owen Inger.
AWARD WINNER 9 | NCS Champion, presented by Michelle Payne from Warwick House – winner was James Heesom.
AWARD WINNER 10 | NCS Grad of the Year, presented by Community Manager Paul Newman – winner was Katie Desmond.
AWARD WINNER 11 | Employee of the Year, presented by Stephen Pearce from Derby County Football Club – winner was Richard Mansfield.
