The Great Big Thank You Awards
On the evening of Thursday 19th January, hundreds of people gathered at the WV1 Suite at Molineux to celebrate the final of the Express and Star’s the Great Big Thank You Awards. The ceremony was all about honouring some of the unsung heroes in our local communities. It was definitely a night to remember, and not just for us, but also for the amazing winners.
The glittering ceremony saw celebrities, sponsors and fantastic finalists come together to find out who would be crowned Grandparent of the Year, Teacher of the Year, Angel of the Year, Young Star of the Year, Inspirational Leader of the Year, Unsung Sporting Hero, Ambassador of the Year, Volunteer/Fundraiser of the Year and Community Champion.
The finalists were welcomed and the winners announced by compere for the evening, Alan Dedicoat, known as the National Lottery’s Voice of the Balls and also for his work on Strictly Come Dancing. Each of the winners received a sparkling glass trophy and a special prize from the sponsors of each award.
Also at the ceremony was a drinks reception complete with dancing grannies, The Fizzogs, along with an array of magicians followed by a stunning performance by Britain’s Got Talent finalist Connie Talbot, who took to the stage to perform Adele’s ‘When We Were Young’ and ‘Life on Mars?’ by David Bowie.
Tile Choice were honoured to sponsor Young Star of the Year which was announced as 10-year-old Louis Johnson, with The Voice Star Megan Reece announcing his award alongside Lee Rudkin of Tile Choice.
Louis Johnson barely has a moment to spare in between all his fundraising. But he managed to spare some time to attend the ceremony. Louis, who is just 10 years old, began fundraising at the tender age of three when he joined his mother Teresa in a charity walk to raise money for children’s charity, Barnardos. Since then, Louis has organised his own bake sales, made his own cards and jewellery to sell for charity and raised more than £7000 for good causes across the region including Compton Hospice and the Midlands Air Ambulance.
The finalists were whittled down from hundreds of submissions featuring many inspirational members of our communities. The nominations revealed just how many unsung heroes there are across the Black Country and Staffordshire. Wading through the many nominations was difficult to say the least, but the Express and Star with the help of all the sponsors managed to draw up a list.
