Our Annual Town Meeting was held on Tuesday 7th May 2024 in Sedgefield Parish Hall. It was lovely to see so many residents attend, with a keen interest in their town and showing support to friends and families receiving awards or donations. Everyone was provided with refreshments as they listened to the meeting and presentations by County Cllrs Chris Lines and David Brown, Sedgefield Charities (by Anne Gladwin), Sedgefield Development Trust (by Janette Savage) and Durham Constabulary (Sergeant Daniel Lake).
Following the meeting, Mayor of Sedgefield Dave Jasper gave recognition to his Consort Annette Lawson who has accompanied Dave on nearly all of his adventures this year, travelling far and wide to promote our town and community.
In his second year as Mayor, Dave has raised just over £13,300 through various fundraising events and a lot of hard work! Dave’s headline charity Red Sky Foundation were represented by founder Sergio Petrucci MBE who received an incredible donation, setting off the Mayor’s presentation which saw a whopping 32 donations handed out.
Congratulations to the following groups and organisations. You can find a full gallery of images from the event at the end of this write up!
1st Sedgefield Brownies, 1st Sedgefield Girl Guide Company, 1st Sedgefield Scout Group, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Aycliffe & District Bus Preservation Society, Baby & Toddler Group (Methodist Church), Carpet Bowls, DIDO, Feeding Families, Handbell Ringers, Homebryth House, Little Movers, Local History Society, Memory Café, Methodist Church Ladies, Mordon Village Hall, Pop-In Club, Ranger Guides (Grace & Olivia), Readley Mesothelioma, SCA Med Fayre, Sedgefield in Bloom, Sedgefield Out of School Fun Club, Sedgefield Players, Sedgefield Youth Club, Sew Easy, SPYS, St. Cuthbert’s Hospice(Durham), u3a, W.I, Willowdene Care Home, Woodland and Wildlife Group.
To conclude the evening, we had two final presentations to make – Citizen of the Year and, for the third time ever, Young Citizen of the Year!
Our Citizen of the Year 2023 is… Ian Mason. Ian has lived in Sedgefield for 46 years, married to his wonderful wife Anne with 2 children and 3 grandchildren. Ian started his career in Durham Constabulary as a technician, moving on to become a lecturer in electrical engineering at Hartlepool College of Further Education. Working his way to senior lecturer and then head of training, Ian finally retired after 50 years of hard work and dedication.
Many of us know Ian as the Chairman of Sedgefield Show and this year will mark his 18th year in the role, but did you know it was only originally a 2-year term? Ian has introduced many new ideas over the years, making the show even better. Alongside our very own agricultural show, Ian has also just recently ended a 3-year term as Chairman of The Yorkshire Show Federation down in Harrogate.
Ian’s keen interest in education continues after his retirement, providing much support to the young people of Sedgefield. He is currently one of the Directors of Sedgefield Fun Club and a Governor at Sedgefield Primary School.
Ian was absolutely delighted to win the award presented by Sedgefield Development Trust’s Janette Savage, a surprise successfully executed under the guise of attending to collect one of the earlier donations! Congratulations on your much-deserved award and thank you for all that you do for our town.
But that’s not all!
This year, we were delighted to receive quite a few nominations for Young Citizen of the Year, with so many young people leading excellent examples to us all. But ultimately, there could only be one recipient of the 2023 award.
Congratulations to Sedgefield Youth Club’s very own George Nott! At only 18 years old, George has made such an impact on our community that we may not even have room to list it all! Born and raised in the town, George expressed an interest in helping good causes from a very young age, helping with coffee mornings for Durham Wildlife Trust, producing promotional videos and even providing the voice over for some of their campaigns!
George has been part of the Scouting movement from Beavers right through to Explorers, really enjoying the valuable skills and experiences learned. An avid member of Sedgefield SPYS, they have been acting in every pantomime and several plays since the age of 7. The excitement of being on stage and being part of these groups has provided such a positive boost.
Now going through A-levels, George is balancing studies with giving back to the community that has provided so much. George often takes part in cleaning up the streets with Sedgefield Ploggers, delivers Sedgefield News every month and volunteers for Feeding Families. George has been an invaluable asset to Sedgefield Youth Club, joining at age 11 when the club first began in 2017. After graduating the senior sessions at 16, they have continued to support the members, earning a well-deserved staffing role, and continues to be a positive role model for the club’s members.
George was presented the award by County Councillor Chris Lines and, much like Ian, had been persuaded to attend for the youth club’s Mayoral donation and had no idea what was coming their way. We wish you all the best with your exams and your next steps. Congratulations once again on all your achievements!
