Shortlist for Knutsford Town Awards Announced

Knutsford residents are invited to celebrate their community heroes at the 2022 Town Awards, which take place on Wednesday 4th May from 7:30pm in St John’s Church.

The Town Awards scheme is delivered by Knutsford Town Council to recognise the contributions of the individuals and organisations working in the Knutsford community. Launched in 2013, the annual awards programme sees awards made across five categories: the Civic Award (individuals) the Community Award (community groups), Youth Award (individuals under 21), Business Award (businesses supporting the community) and Extra Mile Award (individuals in paid employment going above and beyond for the community).

The awards have once again been sponsored by the Forum of Private Business, a non-profit organisation which campaigns for the interests of small and medium sized businesses across the UK. The Forum of Private Business has sponsored the Town Awards since their inception.

Three Civic Awards will be presented on the night and seven individuals have made the 2022 Shortlist. These are:

• Paul Buttrick, President of Knutsford Lions for his leadership of the Knutsford Lions.
• Terry Griffiths for her work leading the Nether Ward Community Group and involvement in an array of community organisations
• Laura Jennings for her work at 5^th Knutsford Scouts
• Vicky McKinnon for her work leading the Run Knutsford community group
• Eileen Podmore for her service to Knutsford Royal May Day, Cranford WI and the Knutsford League of Hospital Friends
• Claire Sawyer for her leadership of We Are Knutsford
• Cathryn Walley for leading the establishment of Friends of St John’s Wood and her involvement on the governing body and PTA of Manor Park School

Three organisations have been shortlisted for the 2022 Community Award:

• Knutsford and District Good Neighbours
• Knutsford Friendship Cafe
• Knutsford Heritage Centre

The Youth Award has a shortlist of two, one of the shortlisting being a joint nomination:

• Poppy Newall for her litter picking around Longridge and designing an anti-littering poster
• Brooke McAteer and Ben Ormerod for their passionate speech about speeding at the Cheshire East Highways Committee meeting

It is the local branches of three national businesses which have made it to the shortlist for the 2022 Business Award, they are:

• Coop Knutsford
• Little Waitrose
• Natwest

The final award of the evening is the Extra Mile Award. This year four people have been shortlisted:

• Sandra Curties, former Town Centre and Marketing Officer at Knutsford Town Council
• Adam Linett, Wild Communities Officer at the Cheshire Wildlife Trust
• Ximena Massam, chef at the Welcome Café
• Nick Sherburn, manage of the Welcome Café

Town Clerk, Adam Keppel-Greens said “We say it every year but it really is true that just being shortlisted for the awards is a great honour in itself. It means someone recognised the work that they do and took the time to put them forward for an award. We hope that those in the community will congratulate those shortlisted and come along to the awards presentation to find out who the lucky winners are”.

Pictured - Cllr Stewart Gardiner (Town Mayor) with Ian Cass (MD of the Forum of Private Business).