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22 Jan 07Mayor Presents Poole Achievement Awards 2007
The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, announced the winners of the ‘Poole Achievement Awards’ for 2007 at a civic reception and awards ceremony on 19 January 2007.
The theme for this year’s event was ‘celebrating the volunteer’, recognising people who have given their time and commitment and made a difference to the everyday life of others.
The seven award winners; Alan Hayward, Audrey Beall, Roger Tidby, Millicent (Sue) Dudfield, John Clark, Geoff Hare and Victim Support Dorset 
were presented with a Poole Pottery plate to commemorate the occasion. (See below for Biographies of Winners).
The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, said: “This was a terrific opportunity to celebrate our unsung heroes, all those noble individuals who put in a huge amount of effort and hard work for the good of our Borough and give up their time selflessly for others. It is truly encouraging to see the high standard of the award winners and I would like to congratulate each and everyone of them for their unconditional commitment to serving our communities.”
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 was held at Lighthouse , Poole’s Centre for the Arts, and included a three-course dinner and entertainment.
Biographies of Winners:
Alan Hayward
Alan has been a volunteer at The Cedars, a home for adults with learning disabilities, for more than 20 years, volunteering three or four times a week without fail.
He has befriended the residents and even regularly takes one resident to a local club. As well as his commitment to the residents he is also an enormous help to the staff and willingly carries out various jobs.
As a member of the League of Friends, Alan attends every meeting, contributing ideas for different fundraising events - he is always on hand to help in any way he can with fundraising events
Alan has a very cheerful persona and always has a smile for everyone. His hard work is very much appreciated by all of the residents and staff at the Cedars.
Victim Support Dorset
Victim Support volunteers visit victims of crime in their own homes and spend time with them, helping them to recover from their ordeal.
Volunteers provide emotional support, information and practical help for those who have fallen victim to crime and their families. Volunteers also help by giving crime prevention advice in order to make victims of crime less vulnerable in the future.
From April 2005 to March 2006, this Community Service dealt with 2,236 victims of crime, including 44 victims of rape and sexual assault, 688 victims of violent crime and 231 burglary victims.
Volunteers are highly committed and dedicated people and all their time is given for free. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures and bring with them a variety of skills and abilities.
Audrey Beall
Audrey has been working with the East Dorset and New Forest Branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND), based in Poole, for 18 years. In this time, she has given comfort and support to people with MND and their families, acting as a voice for those living with the disease.
When a person is diagnosed with MND their first contact with the local association is Audrey, who is absolutely dedicated to getting prompt support for patients.
As well as being instrumental in introducing an extremely popular monthly coffee morning for people living with the disease, Audrey has worked closely with the Council to improve the local environment for disability access. She has also campaigned for low disabled access to Council buses and was the prime mover in setting up the Dial-A-Ride Taxi system.
Audrey’s greatest asset is her driving energy and commitment. People in this area living with MND, and their carers, have so many reasons to be grateful to her for the wonderful work she has done over the years.
Roger Tidby
Roger has been dedicated to the Green Bowlers Association for more than 30 years.
As well as his role as secretary, he and his wife have run the annual Poole Open Bowls Tournament, which attracts some of the best bowlers from all over the country and is a excellent tourist attraction. There is a great deal of planning for these tournaments and Roger always carries duties out in a calm and organised manner.
Roger is retiring this year and is handing over the reins of the Poole Open Tournament.
At the end of the 2006 Tournament, Roger was presented with a plaque from the Association and also a Silver Salver from Greenhill Bowling Club for his fantastic contribution.
All those who enjoy the summer bowling recognise the remarkable effort Roger has put in over such a long period.
Millicent 'Sue' Dudfield
Millicent (known as ‘Sue’) joined the Girls’ Brigade in 1952. She was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1956 and was promoted to Captain of the Company in 1984. She held the role of District Adjutant until 2002, when she retired at 65.
During 46 years as an Officer in the Girls’ Brigade, at St Mary’s Longfleet, 3rd Poole Company, Sue has always encouraged physical exercise by training a team to compete in the National Team Games Finals in 1975.
Sue has operated the Queen’s Award, and has been involved with the Duke of Edinburgh Award since the 1960’s. In 1978 Sue became involved with the Poole Duke of Edinburgh Committee and the ‘Poole Open Award Centre’ was set up in 1986, with Sue offering St Mary’s Church Hall as a venue. Over the years she has taken on responsibility for all the sections of the award.
In today’s world, it is rare to find someone who gives so unselfishly of themselves and, now nearly 70yrs she has no plans to give up her voluntary commitments.
John Clark
John was 2nd Coxswain of Poole Lifeboat and a member of the crew for nearly 20 years. He has volunteered and raised funds at the Old Lifeboat Station and still changes the RNLI flag on the museum.
A member of the station boat committee, John is also the founder member of the Poole Lifeboat stunt team, which re-enacts rescue scenarios on Open Days.
For nearly 10 years, John was the boatman for the Green Island Holiday Trust, taking holidaymakers to the island. He has also taken parties from Dorset Youth Cancer Trust holiday group out in a Sunseeker boat for the children to enjoy a memorable trip out on a luxury yacht.
John was involved with the Poole’s Fisherman’s Association for more than 5 years and has raised money for charities, including local children’s hospitals and Guide Dogs for the Blind.
John’s work has touched the hearts of people through the years, he is down-to-earth, with a huge heart, always willing to help.
Geoff Hare
In 1984 Geoff became club secretary of Broadstone Boys Football Club (now Broadstone Football Club) and in 1992 he became the Club Chairman, a position he still holds today.
Under his supervision Broadstone FC has gone from strength to strength, with 22 teams and approximately 300 players registered. The club now has a five-figure turnover and finances continue to thrive with Geoff as the driving force.
In early 2002 Geoff and the committee worked tirelessly to become the first club in Dorset to achieve the ‘Charter Standard Development Club’ status from the Football Association.
Geoff can still be found at Broadstone Rec at the weekends ‘keeping his eye’ on things. When he is not at the pitch his priority is working with local schools to make young people aware of the opportunities available. To this day he is working on improving the facilities to ensure the future for many more young people.
It is Geoff’s enthusiasm and dedication to young people, the local community, and, of course, football that makes Broadstone FC the success it is today.
Lisa Gaskell, Communications, Borough of Poole, Tel: 01202 633060
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