Sleaford Town Awards celebrate the town's shining stars

The event, held at the town hall, was compared by Sleaford Town Crier, John Griffiths, who opened the night by introducing Mayor Coun Linda Edwards-Shea, who said: “This is always a very special event in Sleaford.”

The first award given out on the night was the Carer of the Year Award – sponsored by Sleaford Islamic Centre – which was awarded to Oliver Jordan who, aged just five, saved his mum Holly’s life when she developed diabetes and slipped into unconsciousness. He remained calm, called for his gran and called the emergency services, saying: “Mummy has poorly blood and is sleeping.”

Oliver developed an ability to spot when her blood sugars were low, and he pricks her finger and gives her a sweet, while also helping with his younger brother’s seizures.

The Overcoming Adversity Award – sponsored by William Alvey C of E School – was awarded to Isobel Johnson, who was born with a condition that means she is predominantly a wheelchair user but despite this, she decided to try and become a model and actress. She was quickly signed by the UK’s largest talent agency for disabled people and has featured in national TV adverts, worked with Lego and Aldi for their campaigns.

The Community Award – sponsored by Castle Print – went to Jenny Clifford who has organised collections of donations for Ukrainian refugee families in school, which she transported to Lincoln, volunteered at the collection centre, set up a sponsorship opportunity and achieved a special refugee award for the school.

Earlier this year, her school welcomed a family of four traumatised children from Afghanistan, without any English and very few belongings, and Jenny organised a range of support for the family.

The Young Community Volunteer Award – sponsored by William Alvey C of E School – which was presented to Ella Gibson, Ellis Jackson, Ranya Tran and Cherise Joseph-Holloway, students from St George’s Academy, for their hard work volunteering for the Sleaford Talking Newspaper.

On a Wednesday afternoon for visually impaired members of the community and giving back to their community.

The Environmental Award – sponsored by Lincs Cabs – was awarded to Riley Shea, a year eight pupil at St George’s Academy who organised a litter-picking group to help keep their school clean and tidy.

Sports Team/Club of the Year – sponsored by Millers Restaurant – was presented to Sleaford Academicals Walking Football Club, which plays in competitions all over the UK winning cups and accolades, and has also raised tens of thousands of pounds for many good causes both local and national, fundraising for the Laffletics Club and Ukraine refugee support to name a couple.

The winner of the Sports Individual of the Year Award – sponsored by Sleaford Town Council – was Julie Leighton, who has been a member of Sleaford Tennis Club and its management committee for more than two decades and is described as the beating heart of the club.

Young Sports Individual of the Year – sponsored by William Alvey C of E School – is kayaker Milly Pepper, a student at Carre’s Grammar School who has come third in the K2 (doubles) national sprint championships where she competed with a partner, came second in the singles, and also came third in her division in the national marathon championships which can be over four, eight or 12 miles against anyone of any age or gender.

She is now part of the England Women’s Development Squad.

Sponsored by the deputy mayor of Sleaford, the winners of the Young Sleafordian of the Year are Alice Youens and Tyler Harvey, a pair of pupils from William Alvey School.

They started a litter picking group in school, speaking in assembly in front of 650 children to set up a rota and offered to train any willing volunteers and every Tuesday over the Summer Term, 30 children gave up their lunchtime to make a difference and they launched a Conservation Club.

The night’s compere, town crier John Griffiths, was awarded the Sleafordian of the Year award – sponsored by the Mayor of Sleaford – for taking on the role with enthusiasm and gusto, becoming an exponent for the town and its ambitions.

The final award was the Mayor’s Special Award - sponsored by the Mayor of Sleaford – which was presented to MosArt, a group of creative volunteers whose artistic contributions to the town can be seen all over Sleaford.

Their most recent creations has been the series of mosaic panels on display in Gladstone’s Passage, between Money’s Yard and Southgate, celebrating the town’s landmarks, but also their work features in a trail of mosaics around the town.

A spokesman for Sleaford Town Council said: “Congratulations to all the winners and thank you again to the sponsors and to the fantastic students from St George’s Academy for their amazing performance.”