Nominate your heroes for an Amazing Ashton award

Wednesday, 29 April 2020 12:04

After the success of last year's inaugural ceremony, the Amazing Ashton Awards will be back later this year to once again honour some of the town's most amazing people.

The Ladysmith Shopping Centre has launched its second search for Ashton's unsung heroes and announced some new categories for 2020.

The Amazing Ashton Awards 2020 has now opened for entries.

The centre is seeking nominations for outstanding contributions to the community and the innovative teams and individuals making them happen.

The awards, which are organised and hosted by Ladysmith Shopping Centre, will support the centre's nominated charity of the year - Willow Wood Hospice.

To continue its recognition of excellence in Ashton, three brand new categories have been introduced this year:

Ladysmith Retailer of the Year

Retailers are at the heart of the Ladysmith Shopping Centre community. This award encourages staff and retailers at Ladysmith Shopping Centre to nominate an individual, group or entire business to be recognised for always going above and beyond in their line of duty inside or outside of work.

Great Leader Award

Through great leadership, this person helps to positively shape people’s futures. This could be a school teacher, community group leader, a project leader, a football, gymnastics or dance coach. The list is endless.

Covid-19 Hero Award

The courage, commitment and selflessness of healthcare workers, essential workers, friends, family and neighbours during Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a beacon of inspiration across the world. Many of these heroes have risked their own health to support patients and some of the most vulnerable in our communities. So, we’re proud to be able to pay tribute for their service and bravery with this brand new Covid-19 Hero Award.

The other five categories include:

The Young Achievers Award
Charity Fundraiser of the Year
Independent Retailer / Market Trader of the Year
Local Business / Entrepreneur Award
Employee of the Year

Samantha Robinson, Assistant Centre Manager, said: "We are delighted to be launching the second Amazing Ashton Awards after such a success last year.

"We have introduced the new categories to cover every aspect of community life and recognise the enormous contribution made by people and projects which deserve to receive that special acknowledgement.

"We are hoping to see a record number of entries as the Ashton community is working together harder than ever at the moment to help each other get through these unprecedented times.

"Opening the entries again will hopefully act as a beacon of positivity in the town and encourage people to appreciate those unsung heroes around them even more."

For now, due to the coronavirus, the Amazing Ashton Awards is only accepting online entries through the Ladysmith Shopping Centre website and links to the site are available through the centre’s Facebook and Instagram profiles.

Paper entries will be available from retailers once trading resumes back to normal.

For more information about the Amazing Ashton Awards and to keep up to date with the retailers still trading for essential shopping at Ladysmith, head to www.ladysmithshoppingcentre.co.uk or follow @ladysmithshoppingcentre on Facebook and Instagram.

Relive last year's ceremony with our photo album: