LUTON’S BEST AWARDS 2015: Vote here for the winner of The People’s Choice Award

NOMINATIONS for the Luton’s Best awards have closed, and that can only mean one thing – it’s time for the People’s Choice vote.

Readers of Luton on Sunday now have until Friday, November 26 to choose who will take home the People’s Choice Award.

The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony at Luton Hoo on Friday, November 27.

So take a look below at who has been nominated and cast your vote!

Young Achiever

Harrison Barrett and Harry Crouch – Harrison & Harry have raised more than £5,000 for Help the Heroes

Dawood Masood – He is very much involved in helping those in need and has been part of many NGO’s, charities and voluntary sector organisations. He has helped raise thousands for charity

Conor Naughton – Conor is 18 and has worked tirelessly for Bedfordshire community radio station Diverse FM since the age of 12. He has helped the station in its outstanding community work.

Child of Courage

Katie Andrews – Despite living with post prandial hyperinsulinaemia hypoglycaemia Katie is always helping others and has raised over £20,000 for the Kingfisher ward at Great Ormond Street

Finley Armstrong – Finlay is a Leukaemia survivor who diagnosed when he was only 3 and has gone to help his family raise much needed funds and awareness of the UK Blood Cancer charity

Hannah Campbell – Year 6 girl Hannah was diagnosed with Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in 2012 and has managed to remain positive through her intensive treatment and be an inspiration to everyone around her

Adult Achiever

Doug Jones – He has been selling historical prints and paintings for the last 45 years despite losing a big part of his eyesight to glaucoma and being colour blind

Gavin Muge – He has been refereeing since he was 14 and is now 45 and still does this at a professional level. Three years ago he lost his job and has since set up a thriving consultancy business

Maxine Smith – Although she has had personal struggles, Maxine has always been reliable and supportive. She plays a huge part in keeping the open arts project afloat despite having lost the NHS funding

Best Fundraiser

Lucia Melila – Lucia has down the years carried out as many as 15 charity fundraising events. Just this month she returned from carrying out a 3-day desert trek in Jordan and in doing so raised thousands for the charity Mind.

Tony Jules – Tony is a patient in Keech Hospice Care who is fundraising from his bed to raise £40,000 for a ‘Keech Angel’, which is a nurse who cares for the patients at the Hospice.

Helen Snowden – Helen joined LAMP as a volunteer several years ago and has gradually taken on a much bigger role and more responsibility. She is solely responsible for all aspects of LAMP’s fundraising.

Best Volunteer

Robin Cowan – Robin works tirelessly and selflessly volunteering hours of his time for the greater good of Luton and his community. He is an integral part of the Luton & Dunstable Cycle Forum

Andrew French – Andrew has had some very difficult times in life but managed to overcome these through his work with Signposts. He has been volunteering for Signposts for many years.

Darren Woodhouse – Six years ago Darren set up Swirl nightclub for people with learning and physical disabilities. It is attended by more than 100 people each month.

Community Business Person

Khaled Ahmed – Born and bred Lutonian who has worked in the family business from a young age and set up his own very successful business, Meah’s sauces, some 17 years ago

Maria Collins – Maria set up Home Instead in 2010 and she provides non-medical services, personal care and companionship to the most elderly and vulnerable

Karen Linley – Karen is the community champion for Tesco Luton and she has built strong relationships with many community groups

Community Company of the Year

Luton Foodbank – Launched in April 2013, the Luton Foodbank charity provides emergency food supplies to local people in crises and in poverty

Pictons Solicitors – Pictons encourage all their staff to actively get involved through fundraising and volunteering. They are also keen to grow and nurture local talent

Signposts – The work Singposts does in the community not only enables things to happen that wouldn’t normally but it has also helped to develop their volunteers who have grown in confidence and improved their quality of life

Community Project of the Year

Creative Vision – Established in 2007, Creative Vision Luton Ltd is a community group whose aim is to address community issues for a better future, unite the community and celebrate cultural diversity

Luton Open Arts Project – Open Arts is a community arts project that has helped many people suffering from mental health issues and social isolation to gain a sense of purpose and build up confidence

Radio Lab – Is a radio station run by students from the University of Bedfordshire

Environmental Achievement

Barnfield West Academy – On the 70th Anniversary of VE Day the school dedicated a large area of their garden to be a poppy field to support the Love Luton Poppy Appeal and pay their respects to the many who lost their lives at war

Green Hub – Tom Ball and Adam Dembski-Bowden are the two-man team that is the Beds SU’s Green Hub. They work very hard to put on a range of events and activities that promote everything green from recycling to gardening to using less water and electricity.

Wardown Bridge restoration – The iconic Wardown Park Suspension bridge officially re-opened to the public on July 30 following an extensive repair and renovation

Keeping Luton Safe

Alcohol services for the community – For over 36 years alcohol services for the community has been committed to improving the lives of people living and working in Luton by reducing the harms caused by alcohol

LAMP – LAMP is a small hard working local charity committed to helping Luton deal with one of its most pressing issues, single person homelessness.

Street Pastors – Street pastors are trained volunteers from local Luton churches who care about the community. They are usually on patrol from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. on a Friday or Saturday night to care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets.

Leisure and Culture

Luton Karate Academy – Luton Karate Academy was established 18-months ago and now has a membership total of 158

Luton Mela – Luton Mela has been going for 15 years and has over 40,000 attending the 2-day event

The ‘Artism’ Project – A group of autistic adults in Luton have made a wall mural for Farley Hill Community Centre which took two months to create

Lifetime Achievement

Sister Maire Hayes – Sr Maire has been a member of Luton Council of Faiths for over 12 years and in that time she has given her full time, attention, patience and respect to the multitude of complexities that the council has faced over the years in the community.

Ron Miller – For 23 of the 25 years that Luton Shopmobility has been operating, the person in charge has been Lutonian Ron Miller. During this time he has worked long and hard at steadily building, establishing and raising the vital funds necessary for the success of this important and well-used facility

Kevin Porter – This year chief executive Kevin has celebrated this 60th Birthday and 25 years service to Signposts.

Luton in Harmony

Rehana Faisal – Rehana has worked really hard to bring the community together during difficult and challenging times

The Luton Centenary Poppy Project – The Centenary Poppy Campaign supported the British Legion by painting a huge poppy using nothing more than children’s hands

Sister Maire Hayes – Sr Maire has been a member of Luton Council of Faiths for over 12 years and in that time she has given her full time, attention, patience and respect to the multitude of complexities that the council has faced over the years in the community.

Lutonian of the Year

Elizabeth Aldous – Elizabeth qualified as an occupational therapist but three years into her first job she was seriously ill and diagnosed with M.E. She now leads on many community arts projects

Nadiya Hussain – Luton-born Nadiya was this year’s winner of the Great British Bake Off

Phyl Rainey – Phyl works for Signposts and leads on the volunteering among many other community initiatives.

Outstanding Teacher

Jamie Kelly – As well as consistently teaching inspiring lessons, forming fantastically positive relationships with the children in our school and being the most fantastic role model, Jamie constantly goes above and beyond what is expected of a teacher.

Michael Scott – Mr Scott has recently been promoted to assistant head at Someries Infant School and is in charge of those with special educational needs at the school.

Ged Wilkinson – Mr Wilkinson teaches at the Luton Sixth Form College and is also a personal tutor for the students. The support he gives his students has enabled them to successfully complete their A Levels and get into university.

Service with a Smile

Maria Collins – Maria set up Home Instead in 2010 and she provides non-medical services, personal care and companionship to the most elderly and vulnerable

Kerryeanne Dicker – Kerreyanne supports the local community by providing safe environment for the children of Luton in which she cares for.

Families United Network – The work Families United Network does can be very demanding and challenging at times but every member of the team has a smile on their face no matter what.

Sporting Inspiration

Bill Barrett – Bill has given his life to sport. He has devoted all this spare time to Gaelic football and to running and has achieved so much personally in these fields

Elliott Browne – Elliott is a tumbler for Great Britain. He has been moved into the senior squad a year early Elliott currently trains 5 days a week and coaches Gymnastics in between training to support himself.

Sean Griffiths – Sean is an ex-pro footballer he now coaches lads & girls from youth to professional level

Care in the Community

Shirley Bunker – Shirley is 79-years-old cares for people struggling with mental health issues. She helps put structure back into their lives and keep them safe.

Merrisen Gittens – Merrison has for the past few years arranged for local Luton residents who are alone at Christmas to be picked up by Arriva buses. He arranges for them to come to his club to ensure they have a complete Christmas dinner

Darren Woodhouse – Darren set up the Swirl nightclub for people with physical and mental disabilities. He worked hard to secure a small pot of funding to enable this much needed activity to happen.

Luton’s most outstanding citizen 2015

Edith Billington – Edith is a Volunteer for Age Concern Luton. This 82-year-old lady has worked as a photographer for 22 years of new-born babies at the L&D Hospital until her retirement at the age of 78

Tony Jules – Tony is a patient in Keech Hospice Care who is fundraising from his bed to raise £40,000 for a ‘Keech Angel’, which is a nurse who cares for the patients at the Hospice.

Phyl Rainey – Phyl works for Signposts and leads on the volunteering among many other community initiatives.