May 7 2014.


The 2014 Newhaven Community Awards were presented to their worthy winners during the annual Town Meeting held at the Hillcrest Community Centre last week. Around eighty people gathered in the hall to see the awards presented, meet representatives from local organisations and find out about what the Town Council had been up to over the past year.

There were three award categories, plus an overall winner chosen from all the nominations.

The Volunteer Award is for someone who has done outstanding voluntary work in the community and was won by Bob Evans. Bob is the Group Scout Leader for the 3rd Newhaven troop and has been a dedicated officer for the last 15 years as well as a volunteer driver for Community Transport for the Lewes Area. The award was sponsored by Newhaven Chamber of Commerce and Bob is pictured receiving it from Roxanne Haid from the Chamber.

The Unsung Hero Award is for someone who has gone beyond and above the call of duty whether in a professional or voluntary role. This award was won by Maureen Hannington, a volunteer at the Senior Citizens Lunch Club who always goes the extra mile, for instance by checking when people don’t turn up at the lunch club to make sure they are well and helping to care for people in their own homes. Maureen is pictured receiving her award from Stuart Still of East Web who sponsored the award.

The Achiever Award is for someone who has achieved something outstanding through hard work or talent. Jim Skinner, who formed the Friends of Tide Mills and has led the group enthusiastically for 8 years, was the winner of this Award. The efforts of the group have made the area much more attractive and a popular place for visitors. Jim is pictured receiving his award from Neil Cameron of Wave Leisure who sponsored the award.

The overall winner of the 2014 Newhaven Community Award was Marilyn Nolan, described as a “serial volunteer for a wide range of organisations and charities in the local areas”. These include Denton & South Heighton Junior Football Club, the Barn Theatre in Seaford, the RNIB and the Meridian Mature Citizens Forum. Marilyn was presented with her award by Roxanne Haid of the Newhaven Enterprise Centre, who sponsored the award.

The Mayor of Newhaven, Councillor Julie Carr, said: “It was really hard for the panel to choose the winners, because there were so many wonderful nominations of people who put so much into the local community. We wished they could all win. It has been a huge honour for me, as Mayor, to meet representatives of Newhaven’s vibrant voluntary sector during the past year and I was delighted to be able to finish my mayoral year with this lovely ceremony to recognise some of the people involved.”