page revision date : 12th December 2008
Wonderful audience
Anyone who attended the Sport Pembrokeshire Awards was lucky to be part of a wonderful night where some of the successes of sport in our county were paraded in view and cheered by a terrific audience that included not only families and friends but coaches, administrators and lots of others who make our sport what it is. To all of them we say thank you for making it a night to remember.
Superbly sponsored
The event was sponsored in the main by Sport Pembrokeshire, Chevron, Radio Pembrokeshire, Western Telegraph and Folly Farm, who supplied their amazing facilities free of charge. Other excellent sponsors were Eddie’s Snooker Hall and the Cricket Shop – and as a result of their generosity there were terrific trophies for not only the winners but the other nominated finalists as well, plus nice certificates for everyone who had been nominated.
Folly Farm frolics
Folly Farm provided their excellent theatre to house the 650-plus people who turned up and young and old had a chance to further enjoy themselves for the hour before on the various rides available that included the ever-popular dodgems, swings and merry-go-round. There was also a buffet provided and this venue is certainly a smashing place to hold such a prestigious event, with all the staff worthy of praise for their hard work on the evening and before.
Well done Ben
Although there had been a great deal of work by a large number of people for weeks before it is fair to say that the whole event was pulled together via the superb organisational skills of Sport Pembrokeshire’s Ben Field. He co-ordinated the regular meetings over a period of time prior to the event, organised the trophies and generally showed his capabilities – so well done Ben!
Busy MCs
With so many categories it was important that the event flowed and MCs Bill Carne and John Deason made sure that the audience were informed and involved throughout. They were introduced by Phil Thompson, from Chevron, who showed that he is very comfortable behind a microphone as he also gave the audience details of safety drills etc.
Ace photographer Martin
The person responsible for the cracking photographs that appear throughout our tribute to the Sport Pembrokeshire Awards was Martin Caveney, so long rightly regarded as one of the top photographers in the county and as good a taker of sporting action shots as we have seen in Pembrokeshire. So thanks Martin – and keep up the good work!
Message from Welsh rugby star
Another strong visual feature on the evening was the message sent by Welsh international rugby star Jonathan Thomas and conveyed on the big screen. Johnny, who hails from Stackpole, told the audience that he was very proud of his Pembrokeshire connections and wished everyone congratulations and further success. He would have loved to attend but was in Edinburgh, hoping to make his return to action with the Ospreys after being out for a while with an injury.
Well done Rob
Showing that he is something of an action man was Cllr Rob Lewis, the cabinet member for sport, amongst other things, who journeyed to the Liberty Stadium in Swansea the day before to interview Jonathan. The end product was very professional and Rob’s enthusiasm was very evident throughout the build-up to the successful evening – as he also produced a slide show of photographs to show a few things that Des Shanklin had done in a long and distinguished career as a football administrator at the highest level with Wales.
Moving moment
One of the undoubted highlights of the event was the choice of Des Shanklin for the ‘Lifetime Achievement in Sport’ award because it fittingly marked almost 60 years where he has served Pembrokeshire so well in football ‘up the line’, as well as in Pembrokeshire. He received his trophy from fellow Welsh FA stalwart Ken Tucker, who was delighted to travel down from Merthyr Tydfil for the evening. As Ken rightly said, “Des has been a great ambassador and there is no-one else I would travel so far to see on a Friday evening.”
Smashing range of awards
There was a smashing range of awards from youngsters to old-timers, from disability sports awards to unsung heroes, from individual skill to teams of the year – with a large number of nominations for some categories, which bodes well for future years. There was also recognition this year for teachers in the primary and secondary sections of our schools, whilst two schools received the Active Mark award, sponsored by the Sports Council Wales and Association for Physical Education. Whilst almost every one nominated could have been a winner there are also a large number of others involved in Pembrokeshire Sport who would grace these categories – and hopefully will be recognised in forthcoming years!
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