INSPIRING, bravery and dedication were celebrated at a glowing ceremony this afternoon.
Unsung heroes were recognised at the Heart of Gloucestershire Community Awards.
Those who received awards were:
Sarah Mills for volunteer Hero +18
Dale Rawlings for volunteer Hero -18
Carmel Croft for caring Hero +18
Shania and Cody Sadler for caring -18
Jerry Barr for environmental Hero 18
Benjamin Clinton for environmental Hero -18
Lorraine Turker for braveheart hero
Brian Jones for community Project
Kim Durrant and Emma Tandy for public Sector Hero – Uniformed
Stuart Langworthy for public Sector Hero – non uniformed
Miranada Wallace for hero in the Community
The event was held at the Hatherley Manor Hotel.
The overall winners, who also won the caring hero under 18s award, were Shania, 13, and Cody Sadler, 11, of Tuffley, who both care for their mother.
They help her cook, clean, wash up and even put her socks on, because of her back problem. After they received their awards from main sponors Ecclesiastical, they said: "We are both shocked and very happy."
Presenter Valerie Singleton OBE was there to compere the The Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo awards.
She said: "It is very special to honour and recognise such stories and the people behind them."
Stuart Langworthy, director of specialism at Millbrook Academy, Brockworth, was presented with the public sector hero non-uniformed award, and said: "It has come as a great shock. It was an honour to be in the same category as [the late St Peter's head teacher] Lawrence Montagu. He was an inspiration to many people and to me."
Jerry Barr, from Transition Town, a green charity, took the environmental hero over 18 award. He said: "The work we do in the environment is a team movement. My friends were nominated and deserve it too."
The environmental hero under 18 award went to Benjamin Clinton, a Churchdown School pupil from Longlevens, who picks up litter in his spare time.
He said: "You can go out and have fun, but make sure you put litter in the bin. I am really shocked to have won this award."
The public sector hero uniformed award was won by PCs Kim Durrant and Emma Tandy, from Gloucester, who saved the life of a pensioner who stopped breathing at Cineworld cinema in Cheltenham. Kim said modestly as she accepted the award: "We were just doing our job."
Volunteer hero for over 18s was awarded to Sarah Mills, a nursery nurse from Cheltenham who has cerebral palsy and listens to children read in her spare time.
She said: "I have not stopped crying since winning, it is a great feeling."
Braveheart hero went to Lorraine Turker, 39, of Cheltenham, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa just two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing aggressive treatment.
She said: "These awards are a brilliant way for people to be recognised."
Volunteer hero for under 18s was given to Dale Rawlings, for his hard work and dedication to working with all teams at Abbeymead Rovers. Dale said: "I was not really expecting to win this, I am delighted."
Carmel Croft, from The Reddings, won caring hero over 18 for the 'myriad' of people she has helped across the county.
