BT Chairman's Award Winners 2008

On Wednesday 9 July, BT’s chairman Sir Michael Rake presented the BT Chairman’s Awards at the BT Tower in London.  Fifteen BT Chairman’s Awards, an Outstanding Achievement Award and £23,000 was distributed at the ceremony.

This year's winners are:

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Winner: Keith Dickens, Agoonoree

COMMUNITY AND CULTURE
Winner: Jon Jacobs, St John Ambulance Somerset
Runner Up: Simon Field, Radio Glamorgan
Runner Up: Keith Shepherd, Brighton Theatre Group

SPORT
Winner: Kevin Scully, NCI Youth Section (Cricket Club)
Runner Up: Phil Merriman, Staines Swimming Club

YOUTH
Winner: Keith Dickens, Agoonoree
Runner Up: Tony Bird, 65 (Bridgwater) Air Training Corps
Runner Up: Graham Barre, 1119 Shrewsbury Squadron Air Training Corps

EDUCATION, DEVELOPMENT AND AWARENESS
Winner: Tanya Spensley, National Society for Epilepsy
Runner Up: Candace Merle, Albion Fellows Bacon Centre
Runner Up: Adrian Dempsey, The Friends of Briary School 

EMERGING IMPACT
Winner: Martin Thornton, North Dartmoor Search and Rescue
Winner: Rhian Butler, Over The Wall
Winner: Peter Cowell, Incest and Sexual Abuse Survivors
Winner: Robert McCracken, Cherry Tree Detached Youth

The BT chairman personally selected the winners from hundreds of applications short-listed by a judging panel. With the difficulty of judging such outstanding applicants in mind, a new category was added to the awards.  The Emerging Impact category highlights the enthusiasm of people who are new to the voluntary sector, but who are already having a huge impact within their local communities. 

This year’s overall winner was Keith Dickens, a business support and technical consultant with BT in Ipswich. Keith won the £5000 outstanding achievement award on behalf of Agoonoree Scout Camp, a group that enables scouts with disabilities to enjoy a summer camp, by assisting the integration of disabled and able bodied Scouts both male and female to participate in camping and outdoor activities. 

Keith said: “When I first became involved with Agoonoree Scout Camp I never believed it would such an important part of my life. Taking part has been extremely valuable to both my personal and professional life. The skills I have developed throughout my career within BT and my time as chief of staff at the camp have been interchangeable, each one complimenting the other. To have my voluntary work recognised by my employer makes me feel valued as a person and an employee of BT and I am honoured to have been short-listed above all the other hundreds of entries from across the company.”

To be eligible to apply next year, you will need to first receive a BT Community Champions award.  To find out more click here.