Last night award ceremony at Wherstead Park was the culmination of High Sheriff Geoffery Probert’s year in office with the presentation of a number of awards to those who make a difference in their community.

The glitzy affair was attended by a number of Suffolk’s high profile figures from the worlds of politics, football and the arts. The evening was co hosted by Radio Suffolk presenter Leslie Dolphin and Tim Holder from Suffolk Community Foundation which administers funding for the county.

The winners were as follows for each category:

Inspiring Young People

Winner: Sam’s Cafe, Lowestoft

Runners up: Suffolk Volunteer Police/Emergency Service Cadets, Inspire Suffolk

Rebuilding Broken Lives

Winner: Selig (Suffolk ) Trust

Runners up: Focus 12, Fresh Start- New Beginnings, Mpower Project for Ormiston families

Inspiring Leader of a Voluntary Organisation

Winner: Halford Hewitt of homeless charity IHag

Runners up: Dr Pam Chrispin, Emma Ratzer

Young Volunteer of The Year

Winner: Adam Thorpe

Runners up: Sarah Clarke, Bethany Maskell

Collaborative Partnership

Winner: Sentinel Leisure Trust

Runners up: Suffolk Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub, The Mix

Strengthen Your Community

Winner: The Men’s Sheds, Halesworth

Runners Up: Bentley Pub and Shop , Suffolk Artlink

High Sheriff’s Special Award – Suffolk Heritage

Winner: Suffolk Guild of Ringers

Runners up: Black & White Productions, Mid- Suffolk Light Railway

LifeTime Achievement Award

Rev Canon Sally Fogden – founder of The Rural Coffee Caravan