Guide Dogs National Volunteer Awards 2006

This new initiative has given us a chance to show what great volunteering opportunities Guide Dogs offers and to illustrate examples of volunteers’ work – and, we hope, encourage others to come on board.

Today, at Drapers Hall in London, we congratulated all our volunteers on their hard work, and we were delighted to welcome our patron HRH Princess Alexandra, who very kindly spoke warmly at the event.

We had five categories: Outstanding Service; Exceptional Service; Group or Team Award; the Young Volunteer (or Youth) Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award. Every volunteer who was nominated received a certificate.

Below is the list of the champions in each category – followed by the entire list of nominees.

Judith Taylor, Head of Volunteering at Guide Dogs says: "We offer them our heartfelt congratulations and thank them and all the many other volunteers in Guide Dogs for all the work they do."

The champions are as follows:

Team Award – Duston German Shepherd Dog Training Group 
The Duston German Shepherd Dog Training club has, for 23 years, been training dogs and providing entertainment at a host of events on behalf of the association. In that time the club has raised more than £33,500.

Team Award – Christmas Wrappers     
For seven years, Pauline Curwell-Parry and a group of dedicated volunteers have run a very successful present wrapping service in the run up to Christmas, raising more than £50,000 for Guide Dogs.

Youth – Blair Ross
Blair, 18, has used his talent for fiddle-playing to entertain passers-by and accompany street collectors for the past six years. He was inspired to help Guide Dogs’ fundraising efforts when his father, Keith, qualified with his first guide dog.  He has helped the Glasgow Fundraising Team to raise more than £6,000.

Youth – Elizabeth Hunt   
Elizabeth, 17, has cared for 10 trainee guide dogs since 2001, and has demonstrated a consistently high standard of care which has been invaluable in terms of the experiences gained by our training guide dogs helping in their development and preparation for work with a visually-impaired client.

Exceptional Service – Dawn Valvona  
Dawn has given exceptional service to a local guide dog owner. Her assistance has been instrumental in keeping an elderly client with poor health and who lives alone, united with his guide dog to whom he is completely devoted.

Exceptional Service – John Goodspeed (runner-up)   
John frequently goes beyond the call of duty in his role as a volunteer driver which he has been doing for more than 10 years. His willingness is much appreciated.

Outstanding Service – Pat Reed   
Pat has been an inspiration to many other volunteers over the 27 years she has worked with the association. She has shown outstanding commitment and assists us in a wide variety of roles including fundraiser, branch secretary, speaker, boarder and puppy walker.

Outstanding Service – Keith and Beatrice Cottrill (runners-up) 
Keith and Beatrice Cottrill have for the best part of 30 years spent countless hours promoting a non-participating membership scheme which has so far raised £152,000. Beatrice, who is now 88, has raised £45,000 over the last 16 years by completing every year a 16-mile sponsored walk.

Lifetime Achievement Award – Leonard Oakes 
Len has been a guide dog owner, speaker and volunteer helper for 47 years. He has never refused to give a talk, attend a function, or stand in the street collecting.

The complete list of nominees is as follows:

Brenda Leigh, Fundraiser, Wirral;
Olive Minors, Branch Member, Chester;
Joy Moorhead, Fundraiser, Whitby;
Ann Nattriss, Fundraiser, Whitby;
Leonard Oakes BEM, Speaker, Llandudno;
Sue Reading, Fundraiser, Whitby;
Marjorie Richardson, Fundraiser, Whitby;
Bob Richardson, Fundraiser, Whitby;
Colin Searby, Fundraiser, Whitby;
Marion Smith, Fundraiser, Whitby;
Mavis Long, Speaker, Chatham;
John Catlow Towers, Fundraiser, Lancashire;
Tony Warrington, Puppy Walker, Wirral;
Betty Wilson, Fundraiser, Whitby;
Barry Wood, Speaker, Barnsley;
Christine Young, Fundraiser and Branch Member, Whitby;
David Young, Fundraiser, Whitby;
Kathleen Adams, Puppy Walker, Launceston;
Bill and Marilyn Bosworth, Breeding Stock Holders, Stratford upon Avon;
Margaret Campbell, Breeding Stock Holder, Bridgenorth;
Myrna Chave, Branch Member, Poole;
Veronica Clarke, Stud Dog Holder, Stratford upon Avon;
Lynne Collier, Branch Member, Stone and Stratford;
Ann De Voil, Branch Member, Leicestershire;
Andrea Eaton, Puppy Walker, Clevedon;
Carol Evans, Branch Member, Stourbridge;
Chris Gibbard, Puppy Walker, Burnham on Sea;
Linda Hole, Puppy Walker, Burnham on Sea;
Susan Kelsey, Stud Dog Holder, Leamington Spa;
John and Sally Leggitt, Stud Dog Holders, Studley;
Jane Newton, Puppy Walker, Burnham on Sea;
Madge Nightingale, Puppy Walker, Great Barr;
Colin Peedle, Boarder, Leamington Spa;
Jerry Pritchard, Volunteer Coordinator, Tollgate Breeding Centre;
Hilary Reed, Fundraiser, Westbury, Wiltshire;
Pat Reed, Speaker, Devon;
Ann Skinner, Puppy Walker, Wells;
Peter and Adrienne Spindler, Branch Members, Bridgewater;
Judith Stanton, Stud Dog Holder, Warwick;
Derek and Norma Stent, Branch Members, Bath;
Barbara Stone, Stud Dog Holder, Kenilworth;
Barbara Swain, Boarder, Leamington Spa;
Albert and Cath Wagstaff, Fundraisers, Coventry;
Tony Barclay, National Client Representative, Northern Ireland;
Leanne Brown, Action Desk, BBC Humberside;
Ethne Brown, Speaker, Tyne and Wear; Eddy McCabe, Fundraiser, Hull;
Sandy and Novena Miller, Fundraisers, Glasgow;
Sandy Miller, Fundraiser, Glasgow;
Billy Walker, Fundraiser, Glasgow;
Margaret Bowden, Branch Member, Deal;
Joy Gilbey, School Liaison Officer, Broadstairs;
Bill Guest, National Client Representative, Norfolk;
John Goodspeed, Driver, Cosham;
Pauline Hennigan, Boarder, Norwich;
Ron and Audrey Lister, Fundraisers, Colchester;
Hilda Taylor, Boarder, Norwich;
Dawn Valvona, Puppy Walker, Aldershot;
Iain Armstrong, Boarder, Sheffield;
Jim Baines, National Client Representative, Crewe;
Ann Colley, Boarder, Bradford;
Peter Drake, Driver, Leeds;
Jane Hepworth, Boarder, Leeds;
Peter Fisher, Boarder, Sheffield;
Terry Jones, Boarder, Bolton;
Beryl Moss, National Client Representative, Yorkshire;
Thelma Wilson, Branch Member, Drighington;
Irene Winrow, Boarder, Wigan;
Penny Bradley, Speaker Coordinator, Hamble;
Christine Dawes, Reception Support, Warwick;
Janet Evans, Tollgate Volunteer, Warwick;
Horace Facer, Boarder, Telford;
Kate Fenwick, Branch Member, Cheltenham;
David Harris, Speaker, Bewdley;
John Jones, Fundraiser, Cheltenham;
Joy King, Boarder, Andover;
Pat Sykes, Reception Support, Leamington Spa;
Denise Timms, Boarder, Andover;
Annie Tuthill, Breeding Stock Holder, Banbury;
Sarah Williams, School Liaison Officer, Bristol;
John Chipp Tribute Fund, Fundraisers, Castletown;
Ann and Clive Townsend, Branch Organisers, Scarborough and Filey Branch, Scarborough;
Ashford Branch, Canterbury;
Bexhill, Hastings and Rother Branch, Bexhill;
Bury St Edmunds Branch, Bury St Edmunds;
Eastbourne Branch, Eastbourne;
Roy and Maureen Perks, and Maureen Freemantle, Branch Members, Thatcham;
Herne Bay and District Branch, Herne Bay;
Jersey Branch, St Saviour;
Rodney and Mary Lomas, Branch Members, Maidstone;
New Romney Branch, New Romney;
The Christmas Wrappers, Bolton;
Girl Guiding North East England and ICE Group, Fundraisers, Tadcaster;
Hull Fundraising Branch, Hull;
Lincoln Fundraising Branch, Lincoln;
Pocklington Branch, York;
Pudsey Fundraising Branch, Pudsey;
Stockport Fundraising Branch, Stockport;
Whitby Branch, Whitby;
Mary Wookey and Mike Tucker, 75th Project Group;
Duston German Shepherd Dog Training Club; Fundraisers, Northamptonshire;
Nick Hardiman and Marcia Upton, Boarders/Fundraisers, Cheltenham;
Brian and Mary Lawrence, Puppy Walkers, Kidderminster;
Plymouth and District Branch, Plymouth;
The Sibthorpe Family, Fundraisers, Cheltenham;
Terms of Reference Group, National;
National Client Representatives, National;
District Client Representatives, National;
Blair Ross, Fundraiser, East Kirkbride;
Rachel Manning, Fundraiser, Gillingham;
Kelly Hurrell, Fundraising, Witham;
Gaia Simioni, Fundraiser, London;
Chloe Dodd, Fundraiser, Telford;
Elizabeth Hunt, Boarder, Telford;
Christopher Paull, Fundraiser, Clevedon;
Robert Blackwood, Fundraiser, Irvine;
Gordon Buchan, Fundraiser, Lanarkshire;
Scott Cunningham, Fundraiser, Glasgow;
Iain Armstrong, Boarder, Stockbridge.