England manager Gareth Southgate, actress Gaynor Faye and soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment were amongst 400 guests who gathered to celebrate the 25th anniversary Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards last week.
Halifax soprano Lizzie Jones was named Personality of the Year for her tireless campaigning and fundraising for better heart care for sportspeople after the tragic death of her Welsh International Rugby League player husband, Danny, on the pitch.
The Awards, sponsored by McCormicks Solicitors of Harrogate, mark the achievements of young people in eight categories, from the Arts to Sport, and are organised by the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation which has now raised more than £1.2m to support young people in Yorkshire.
As well as Gaynor Faye, previous winners among the guests included Kelvin Fletcher, Bailey Matthews and last year’s Youngster of the Year, Lucy Sherman, who performed at the opening reception.
The Chairman of the Awards, Peter McCormick OBE, said:
Once again we had some wonderful winners with some truly inspiring stories of courage and determination and it proved a very fitting way to celebrate our 25th anniversary.
These Awards are also our main fundraiser of the year and none of this would be possible without the support of our sponsors and our guests, most of whom have been with us for many years.
The full line up of winners was:
Personality of the Year, sponsored by Rudding Park – Lizzie Jones of Halifax
Youngster of the Year, sponsored by GMI Property – Evie Addelman, 12, of Leeds
Achievement in the Arts, sponsored by Barclays – Alfie Clarke, ten, of Huddersfield
Achievement in Management and Enterprise, sponsored by The Wetherby Whaler Group – Russell Bisset of Northern Monk Brew Company in Leeds
Achievement in Sport, sponsored by Leeds United Football Club – Jennifer Lee, 20, of Farnhill near Keighley
Achievement in Education, sponsored by Positive Tax Solutions – Dally Purewal of Leeds
Unsung Hero, sponsored by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions – Olivia Rylands, 14, of Hull
Special Award, sponsored by Walsh Taylor – Christine Talbot and Duncan Wood
