Local community celebrated at Council ceremony

(Date of issue: Monday, 16 March 2009)

A local fundraiser, a teenage entrepreneur, a champion sportswoman, a longstanding local volunteer and a talented singer were recognised for their achievements on Friday, 13 March, at Carlisle City Council’s Civic Awards presentation.

The awards have been the highlight of the Civic Dinner since 2002 and this year’s winners were:

• Jane Forster, a local fund raiser who has worked tirelessly since her school days raising money for a large number of charities. Assisted by her mother she pledged to help out the renal unit at the Cumberland Infirmary after a relative fell ill with renal failure and died in 1992 whilst on dialysis and has since raised more than £25,000 for the unit. This is in addition to around other 20 or so events they have run each year for other local causes.
• Burcu Tokay accomplished recent success after being awarded Cumbria’s Young Enterprise Achiever of the Year. This was a considerable feat, as she only came to our region three years ago from Turkey not being able to speak English and also has muscular dystrophy. She helped form a company called Yours Truly selling old jewellery and decorations. The award was presented to her because she was described as an ‘exceptional young woman’.
• Lauren Smith was the first Cumbrian to be selected for the World Junior Badminton Championships. She was selected in England’s Under-19 badminton squad for the event in India. The teenager, from Longtown, secured her selection when she and playing partner Alex Langley, from Nottingham, won the under-19 doubles title at a tournament in Wimbledon, defeating the No1 pairing. This success followed on from a silver medal at last year’s National Championships in Milton Keynes and she became the first person to complete a clean sweep of all the senior county titles by winning the singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the Cumbria Championships in Carlisle. She now regularly represents England in competitions at home and abroad and hopefully will be one of our medal hopes in the 2012 Olympics.
• Ann Hannah first became involved with Denton Holme Community Centre as an active parent volunteer at the playgroup in 1971. She has served as a voluntary management committee member since the early eighties and has been chairperson for more than 25 years. Her other voluntary work includes being responsible for managing the Denton Holme nursery affairs since the late seventies/early eighties, has been the main cook and organiser of the weekly pensioners luncheon club for well over 20 years and has chaired the Carlisle Federation of Community Organisations since the late nineties. She is also a community representative on the Carlisle Partnership and the Healthy Communities and Older People Group.
• Andrew Johnston, as a former pupil at Trinity School and as a chorister entered a national talent show, Britain’s Got Talent, achieving 3rd place and has since launched a professional career. His success continues with the release of his first album, ‘One Voice’, which went immediately to number four in the UK Album Chart when it went on sale in October. He has also completed the 23-date Britain’s Got Talent UK tour. He still has time, however, to study for his GCSEs and to enjoy doing art and playing rugby.

Leader of Carlisle City Council, Cllr Mike Mitchelson, said:

“We established the Carlisle Civic Awards in 2002 as a way of recognising some of the outstanding contributions that some of our citizens of Carlisle have made. The awards reflect the drive and determination of people within our local communities.

“I’d like to pass on my congratulations to all the winners and thank them all for their contribution to Carlisle and all who live and work here.”

This is the eighth year the Council has presented the Civic Awards. The event will be held at The Shepherds Inn, Carlisle.