Willow Brook Centre has once again launched its popular annual community awards programme, Stars of the Stokes.
2018 is the third year of the awards, which cover Bradley Stoke, Stoke Gifford, Winterbourne, Patchway, Almondsbury and Frampton Cotterell and comes on the back of increased nominations in 2017.
Willow Brook Centre works with a variety of local businesses to sponsor and promote the awards, led locally by the Bradley Stoke Journal, and the awards night itself is broadcast live on Bradley Stoke Radio. Returning sponsors Olympus Academy Trust, Tesco Extra, Aztec Hotel & Spa and Carisway Facilities Services are joined for 2018 by First Bus and Honeyfield Property Services.
How to nominate
Members of the public are invited to nominate anyone from the local area who they feel deserves recognition for outstanding community engagement and/or achievement of personal goals. Nominations can be made on starsofthestokes.co.uk or by completing the nomination form on page 24 of the Journal magazine (out 3rd March*). The glittering awards night will be hosted by Shaun Williamson at Aztec Hotel & Spa on Friday 15th June. Shaun is best known for his role as Barry Evans in Eastenders, as a contestant in Celebrity Big Brother and as a satirical version of himself in the BBC sitcom Extras.
Andy Wynn, manager of Willow Brook Centre, said:
“Willow Brook is at the heart of the community and Stars of the Stokes has become an important part of our annual
calendar. It has been two years since we first launched the awards, and we have been delighted to see them grow each year, with over 300 nominations in the first two years, which has been amazing. We are forever grateful to the many local people who have gone out of their way to help us recognise local heroes.”“We are delighted to work with our sponsors on this year’s awards, and are looking forward to seeing the nominations start to come in and meeting some more of the leading lights in our community on 15th June.”
Award categories
The categories for Stars of the Stokes 2018 remain unchanged:
- Star Teacher
- Pre-School Carer of the Year,
- Achievement Against the Odds
- Young Hero
- Champion Carer
- Parent/Guardian in a Million
- Coach of the Year
- Unsung Hero
Stephen Horton, editor of the Journal, said:
“Every month we get to meet and report on a fair few heroes and achievers within our community. It was lovely to see that so many of the winners in 2016 and 2017 had been featured previously in the Journal. We know, however, that there will be many more who support the community or celebrate achievements quietly and under the radar. Please help us to recognise these unsung heroes by taking a few minutes to nominate them.”
“The presentation night is always such an enjoyable evening and it is a pleasure to meet and chat to the finalists and sponsors. I am really looking forward to this year’s awards night.”
More information and updates on this year’s awards can be found by visiting the Stars of the Stokes website, Stars of the Stokes on Facebook or @starsofstokes on Twitter.
UPDATE (1st March): Due to adverse weather conditions, delivery of the March issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine may not be fully completed until Sunday 11th March. We apologise for this delay, which is outside of our control.
Photos: 1 Stars of the Stokes 2017 winners. 2 Stars of the Stokes 2016 presentation night in the Redcliffe Suite of the Hilton Hotel.
