Foundation Chairman, Peter McCormick with Personality of the Year, Lizzie Jones and Rudding Park Managing Director, Peter Banks.
Previous winners from down the years were among 400 guests when young people from across the region were honoured at the 25th Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards on 23 November at Leeds United’s Centenary Pavilion.
Halifax soprano Lizzie Jones was named Personality of the Year for her tireless campaigning and fundraising for better heart care for sportspeople after the tragic death of her Welsh International Rugby League player husband, Danny, on the pitch.
Huddersfield’s Alfie Clark took the Arts Award for his mature performance as Arthur Thomas in Emmerdale in a dementia storyline, which prompted him into fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Society.
The Awards, sponsored by McCormicks Solicitors, mark the achievements of young people in eight categories, from the Arts to Sport, and are organised by the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation which has now raised more than £1.2m to support young people in Yorkshire.
Previous winners among the guests included Gaynor Faye, Kelvin Fletcher, Bailey Matthews and last year’s Youngster of the Year, Lucy Sherman, who performed at the opening reception.
The Chairman of the Awards, Peter McCormick OBE, said: “Once again we had some wonderful winners with some truly inspiring stories of courage and determination and it proved a very fitting way to celebrate our 25th anniversary.
“These Awards are also our main fundraiser of the year and none of this would be possible without the support of our sponsors and our guests, many of whom have been with us for many years.”