CTC Volunteer and Voluntary Group of the Year for 2006
CTC Council has announced the national and regional winners for its annual Volunteer of the Year Award.
Since their creation the awards have become the most prestigious awards in CTC. They celebrate the best of cycling – the people who make it happen at a local and regional level. Whether it’s organising the rides or fighting the cause of cyclists at the local council CTC’s volunteers are a symbol of the largest, most passionate group of cyclists in the country who come together to improve lives through cycling.
All the winners have been recognised for their achievements by fellow CTC members who nominated them as the Volunteer of the Year for their region. Ten individual winners and two groups went forward for recognition as the CTC National Volunteer of the Year and Voluntary Group of the Year which were announced at the CTC Annual Dinner and Prizegiving on 28th April in Guildford.
National Awards
Mike Harrison, Volunteer of the Year and winner of the Moss Medallion for services to CTC. (Scotland)
Mike became active in CTC Lothians DA and in CTC Scotland 7 years ago and immediately made a big impact. Since then his energy and his willingness to take on almost any job at short notice has been a remarkable contribution, both nationally and locally.
His award for 2006 reflects his unique contribution after he was seriously injured in an accident after the CTC National Dinner in April.
Since then he has made a gradual recovery but remains wheelchair bound and has had to move to a specially modified flat. However during his recovery one of his major concerns remained his commitment to CTC Scotland, in particular to the 2006 Birthday Rides in Dumfries for which he was co-ordinator of the organising committee.
Despite giving up all his formal roles it was clear that Mike was not going to let go of his links. Once he was able to use his arms he asked for his laptop computer which he operated while lying flat. This he used to complete the handbook for the Birthday Rides which was used to pull the whole event together, and to maintain the Rides web site.
His fortitude in the face of adversity, and his continued positive outlook despite circumstances which might defeat lesser men, has also been inspirational. He is making a good recovery, and is once again making a contribution to cycling interests, for example restarting as the editor of CTC Scotland’s 'Cycle Talk’ and the CTC Scotland and Lothians CTC web sites. He has recently been re-elected to the vital post of Secretary of CTC Scotland, a role he only gave up to become a national councillor.
Mike was unable to attend the CTC Annual Dinner to recieve his award from CTC President Jon Snow so colleagues from CTC Scotland recorded a special presentation which was broadcast at the dinner.
Alec McCalden, Runner up CTC Volunteer of the Year (South East England.)
Over the last couple of years Alec has been the driving force behind the Godalming Cycle Campaign and an active Right to Ride Rep.
The key event which wins him this award is the effort he has put into the Public Inquiry on the A3 at Hindhead, where he represented the CTC for nearly two years. This strategically significant campaign saw local volunteers co-ordinating a demanding campaign across a huge range of interests.
It was Alex who took the lead on that significant workload during the inquiry and the support and energy he gave to other objectors was invaluable. There was a long delay between the inquiry closing and the Inspectors' Report being published which resulted in a significant change to the costing of the scheme which gave another opportunity to pursue the case for cycling, this he did and enabled others to make their case. While the final outcome was not good for cyclists/cycling the effort that Alec put into the case for cyclists deserves to be recognised.
Apart for the Hindhead scheme he plays a leading role in making the case for cycling at
Waverley's Cycling Forum and Local Transport Liaison Committee. He is a keen advocate of using a bike for everyday utility transport, and never loses an opportunity to promote bike use in order to improve communications in a community.
Liz Bowgett, Third Place, CTC Volunteer of the Year (London)
In 2002 Liz Bowgett started work as a teacher at the New City Primary in Newham, East London.
Within weeks she had volunteered to take over the organisation of the school’s cycling proficiency programme.
Today that programme has grown into the New City Cycling Club. This group operates in an area with very low incomes, with widely diverse communities and an inner city environment yet it provides a wide range of cycling activities for its pupils and parents. There is an under 5s club, a range of day rides and regular holidays to the CTC Wales Festival of Cycling as well as the core cycle training programme. Children with special needs are also included in most activities.
Liz is the person who has made all that happen. She has raised the money, recruited the children and parents, organised the activities, bought the bikes and bike sheds and leads the holidays. She has qualified as a CTC Approved Cycling Instructor herself and motivated many others to act as instructors, leaders and mechanics.
New City is now a Newham Cycling Centre for Excellence and is to receive over £100,000 in support of its cycling activities.
CTC Voluntary Group of the Year
Winner: South Bucks CTC Midweek Section
Despite being the midweek group of a relatively small semi-rural district the Midweek section is one of the most dynamic member groups in CTC.
About 260 planned rides, a weekly informal ride plus five weeklong holidays is an astonishing programme for a group that began as a fortnightly Wednesday group of friends.
And with their level of activity have come commensurate increases in turnout, especially in the last year. Turnouts regularly exceed 50 riders spread over five widely differing groups and special events will get as many as 70. The logistics of planning refreshments and facilities for these large numbers are the success of the group, everyone is catered for.
Many midweekers are retired but the group attracts the unemployed, shift workers, fitness buffs, students. It has a particularly strong female attendance, often outnumbering the men. It is very much valued as a social network for those who might otherwise become isolated because of their unsocial work hours or rural environment. It is also very popular with guest riders from other areas who travel for the company and the outstanding Chilterns scenery.
Runner up: Central London CTC
The Central London section took up the challenge of becoming the Central London DA in 2006.
It has a strong and dedicated organizing committee of enthusiastic cyclists.
Its activities act as a catalyst for cycling, especially cycle touring, in London.
The group markets itself to a wider audience in an attractive and inspiring way via its web-site. Its open approach encourages a wide range of people of both sexes and varied ethnicity to participate with cycle rides graded from gentle (one star) to vigorous (four star), and includes off-road rides.
Its Audax group supports events far and wide, and offers two of its own Audax / DATC events to the wider cycling community.
It distributes by post a handy rides programme to all members, paid for from a small donation collected on each ride.
Over the last year it has looked to attract new members to its group and CTC through a presence at a range of cycle events. Summer and winter parties, Saturday walks, tours, all add to the fun and to group cohesion.
Regional Winners
Simon Spellar, CTC Volunteer of the Year for the East of England.
Simon Speller is really helping to raise the profile of cycling in his year as Mayor of Stevenage which started in May 2006.
He helped promote and rode the Stevenage Circular Cycle in June 2006 and ensured the success of the Stevenage Cycling Day in September.
His series of fundraising rides, including Lands End to John 0’Groats, have raised thousands of pounds for local charities.
He has nominated the CTC Charitable Trust as one of the Mayor’s “causes” for 2006-2007. He helped facilitate, pump prime and, of course, ride Emitremmus, the very successful Stevenage CTC autumn ride.
He has unlocked doors and is getting recreational cycling into Sport Stevenage and recognised for its potential contribution to LAA and Quality of Life targets. He is pursuing the release of an updated and improved Stevenage cycle route guide.
Simon is very busy as Mayor and in his paid employment but his next project is to qualify for this year’s Paris-Brest-Paris!
Wendy Creed, CTC Volunteer of the Year for South West England
Wendy moved to Cornwall just four years ago and has established herself as one of the most energetic personalities promoting cycling in the county.
As well as starting her own cycle training organisation she has actively supported other cycling activities in the area. In particular she has been a major contributor to the Anthony Lord Foundation which aims to teach children across Cornwall how to ride their bikes safely after 13 year old Anthony was killed in a collision with car on his bike.
As well as a the second local memorial ride this year Wendy is planning an End to End Ride for the foundation and supporting a range of other initiatives for the foundation, including training programmes.
Wendy has actively supported CTC's campaigning positions on issues such as cycle helmets and cycle paths in the face of considerable local opposition. By promoting the benefits of training cyclists to deal with their environment she has gained a considerable public profile for cycling.
As a result, Wendy was also involved in ‘gearing up’ for the new national cycle training standard Bikeability from September 2006 until March 2007 and since has gained her Bikeability scheme accreditation. She is planning to work with local partners to start delivering CTC offroad cycle training too.
In March of this year she was also awarded an Honoured Citizen of Truro award for her work for the RNLI using cycling for fundraising.
www.rsct.org.uk
Ian Hill, CTC Volunteer of the Year for the East Midlands
Ian manages to combine the roles of Derby DA Secretary, Burton-on-Trent Section Secretary, CTC East Midlands Region Treasurer and event organiser, also newly elected President Mercia CC.
For many years Ian has been both Secretary of Derby DA and the Burton-on-Trent Section, organising many events and the success of both has been largely due to his unstinting efforts.
He has also been on the CTC East Midlands Region Committee from the start as Treasurer (he is a chartered accountant) and for the past five years has organised the annual CTC East Midlands Region "Six Counties of the Region" 200K Audax ride.
In addition to these efforts he is also an organiser and official of Mercia Cycling Club which has close ties with the CTC and has recently been elected Mercia CC President.
A quiet man who gets on with the job, Ian has the respect of all who know him and have benefited from his efforts.
Terry Ratcliffe, CTC Volunteer of the Year for North East England
Terry is a lifelong cyclist, a Right to Ride Representative and represents the CTC on the Highways Agency Road Users Consultative Committee Northern Region. He is a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers and has been involved in the design and maintenance of highways for over 40 years.
He uses this experience to represent CTC and cycling on many highway schemes. In particular he has been campaigning for cyclists facilities and a safe crossings in relation to a section of the A1 in North Yorkshire which is to be upgraded to motorway status. He has surveyed local cyclists and presented the findings to the Highways Agency, emphasising that their data is flawed as a result of the effective long term blockage of this crossing of the A1. He is particularly concerned about the apparent desire of the Highways Agency to reduce the number of crossing points over trunk roads thus directing cyclists along busy roads to major junctions.
He has led similar campaigns on routes such as the A19 again arguing that the trunk road system is carving up the country into segments which are safely accessible only to motor vehicles. As a result of the objections from Terry and local residents the MP for Richmond, William Hague, has added his support and The Highways Agency has now agreed to provide a bridge at this A19 crossing.
Mike Barr, CTC Volunteer of the Year for the West Midlands
Mike Barr has been the Right to Ride Representative for Staffordshire for many years, tirelessly promoting cycling and working with partners to improve cycling conditions.
His professional background as a town planner has enabled him to work very successfully in partnership with Stoke-on-Trent City Council, other councils and agencies such as Sustrans and vast improvements have been made to the cycle infrastructure of North Staffordshire over the past decade.
During 2006 Mike led the organisation of a series of family rides on Stoke-on-Trent's newly improved greenway network and its National Cycle Network routes. Up to 40 cyclists of all ages took part each time, most of whom were taking part in an organised ride for the first time. The rides were promoted jointly with Stoke-on-Trent City Council and will be repeated and expanded in 2007.
Mike is also the driving force behind the local campaign and cycling group Cycle 2000; he leads the organisation of a network of Sustrans rangers to maintain the National Cycle Network in Stoke-on-Trent, he is a trained cycle instructor working in local schools, he is a significant contributor to the very successful North Staffordshire cycling map and the organiser of many other events.
"Cycle 2000" rides and campaign group
Kevan Shuttleworth, CTC Volunteer of the Year for Yorkshire and the Humber
Kevan is an active and valued member of the Huddersfield cycling community involved in the Huddersfield Cycling Association, Holme Valley Wheelers and Huddersfield CTC which he does alongside other voluntary work for his church, the scouts and hospital radio.
His nomination for this award recognises in particular his work for groups and the promotion of events and rides. He has built up a series of Tuesday evening rides to good levels, riding leading and planning almost every ride, he is an important contributor to the easy rides programme put on by the section and the local authority.
On the publications side he edits the magazine Headset and the DA’s events calendar each year.
On top of the formal roles he takes on for the community and cycling he is a tireless ambassador for cycling carrying all his utility journeys by bike, racing, touring, mountain biking and riding audaxes.
Noel Mitchell, CTC Volunteer of the Year for Northern Ireland.
Noel was instrumental in setting up the Omagh Cycling Initiative to campaign for better cycling facilities in Omagh and to raise the profile of cycling in County Tyrone.
As a cycling returnee he has no background in cycling policy but has quickly made progress with the local Roads Service, health trusts and cycle campaigning networks while getting himself up to speed with skills such as IT.
Led by Noel the group has begun to make its presence felt strongly on issues such as planning and cycle facilities.
Noel is also a volunteer Sustrans ranger on the National Cycle Network and prior to entering the campaigning field he had had some excellent successes as a charity fundraiser bringing in large amounts of money via his charity rides.
Highly Commended Award
The Awards Committee also gave a “Highly Commended” Award to Shirley Burrage of Norfolk DA for her contribution to cycling in the Eastern Region.
