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News

Mayor Presents Poole Achievement Awards 2007

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Jeff Allen, announced the winners of the 'Poole Achievement Awards' for 2007 at a ceremony on Friday, 18 January.

The six award winners - John Brown, Eric Peel, the Football Focus team, Melissa Courtney, Adrian Greenwood and Beryl King were presented with a Poole Pottery Plate to commemorate the occasion.

The Poole Achievement Awards recognises individuals and groups who have given total commitment to their cause, made a difference to the everyday life of others and been exemplary in their achievements.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Jeff Allen, said: "I am very proud to have hosted the annual Civic Award Ceremony for the Borough of Poole Achievement Awards 2007. This is a wonderful opportunity for Borough of Poole to thank those people who do such good work and give so much back to the town. I wholeheartedly congratulate all the award winners."

Nominations are submitted for individuals, organisations, or groups deserving of an award in recognition of their effort, service, dedication or achievement to making Poole a better place in which to live or work.

The Civic Reception and Awards Ceremony was held at Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts.

Biographies of the six award winners follows:

JOHN BROWN
Winchelsea Special School opened in 1972,  and from the start John has been heavily involved in making the school the success that  it is today.

Beginning with the formation of the Youth Club in the school grounds, John then founded 'The Friends of Winchelsea' to encourage parents, staff, local business and friends to become involved in its fund raising.  The pupils have benefited tremendously through the purchase of additional equipment and funding for residential trips, all down to John's encouragement and tireless hard work. 

ERIC PEEL
The Waterloo Residents' Association's champion is Eric Peel.  For the past half century, he has been involved with the Borough of Poole and then Poole Housing Partnership (PHP) as the voice of the residents of the Waterloo Estate.

Eric has conscientiously attended almost every meeting, studiously putting forward residents' issues and views and fighting their corner over many important issues. 

SGT GUY NICHOLAS AND THE FOOTBALL FOCUS TEAM
Anti-social behaviour was a significant problem in Canford Heath until Sgt Guy Nicholas came up with the brilliant idea of inviting the youngsters to play a game of football with the Police.  The youngsters were enthusiastic from the start and the anti-social behaviour reduced drastically and the youngsters were happy to help in cleaning up the area, removing graffiti and litter.

Guy observed the great improvement in behaviour and continued to oversee the gradual growth and involvement  of Leisure Services and Youth Workers, with the result that the league games now involve up to 100  young people! 

MELISSA COURTNEY
At the age of 14, Melissa is a World Champion Biathlete  and as the only Dorset member of Team GB, gained a Gold Medal in the Under 15 section in September 2007 in Monaco.

This year, Melissa has trained with the Dorset team and competed in the English Schools championships in Birmingham. She was then invited to attend St Mary's Endurance Camp at Twickenham for training with athletes of the same abilities from all around the UK, and also met elite athletes training for the World Championships in Japan.

ADRIAN GREENWOOD
Adrian is well known for being a past Borough of Poole Councillor and Mayor of Poole in 1971.  He was also President of the Jolly Pirates of Poole from the end of his Mayoral year until 2006 when  they disbanded. 

Now a volunteer Board Director of Poole Housing Partnership, as a retired lawyer, Adrian has brought a lifetime of legal experience to his work with PHP, and has served on the Finance and Audit sub-committee and the Service Level Agreement Review Board.

BERYL KING
Beryl  is a dedicated volunteer at Fourways Day Centre for the disabled. 

Beryl's strengths are on the theatrical side, specialising in speech and drama and also helping with the annual drama production and various Christmas events, playing the piano and coaching individuals and groups.

Many patients suffering from strokes and other conditions which affect speech have benefited from Beryl's dedication and commitment in encouraging them on their way to recovery.