Merton Civic Awards

Last week as mayor I hosted the first ever Civic Awards ceremony at the Civic Centre in Morden.

The Civic Awards were established to recognise achievement in the borough by groups and individuals who had made a difference to the borough. Over 60 applicants applied and last week we awarded a number of awards to groups and individuals including winners and highly commended. This included the presentation of the Young Person's Award, the Community Contribution Award, the Community Group Award and the London Borough of Merton Award for outstanding achievement.

Among the winners of the awards included Oyeronke Oyerinde a year 6 Cranmer school who won the young person's outstanding achievement for writing 'Its a Beam' for the 2012 Olympics which was performed at the council meeting in September, and across Merton. Also rewarded was Paul Strank, a businessman who has contributed a great deal to the borough in charitable work, but also a major benefactor of AFC Wimbledon. Our main award, The London Borough of Merton award was won by Jessie Waldron, who has worked tirelessly at St Raphael's Hospice for over twenty years and has been an active volunteer.

The event itself was extremely successful and was followed by a reception in the Mayor's Parlour.