Spinal Injury Awareness Day 2009

SIS marked Spinal Injuries Awareness Day on Friday 15th May with our second annual Awards Lunch. This year we chose the grand surroundings of the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews to host the Lunch. Once again we were fortunate to secure sponsorship for the event from our legal advisers, Digby Brown.

The event is there to recognise those who have made an outstanding contribution to SIS over the years and occasionally for specific projects.
The worthy recipients of the prizes were:

Keira Procter - “Volunteer of the Year ”
Volunteer of the Year this year went to Keira Procter; since 2005 Keira has been a regular volunteer covering the Spinal Unit visits and more recently the relative support evenings. The charity would simply not function without our dedicated group of volunteers, overseen by Peer Support Manager Dougy Johnstone. What is particularly impressive is that she is not exactly “handy” for the spinal unit-living, as she does, in Dunoon. This involves the ferry crossing between her home town and Gourock and a thirty mile drive. There have been occasions when due to bad weather that the ferry has been put off; this then means that she has to drive the long way round, by the Rest and be Thankful in foul weather, a total of 70 miles. It is for her ongoing dedication to helping others and the lengths that she often has to go to, that Keira has been recognised by the charity.

The Diced Cap Trust - “Supporter of the Year ”
Supporter of the Year in 2009 recognises the fantastic ongoing support given to SIS by the Diced Cap Trust and specifically their Chairman, Gordon Townson. The Diced Cap is the charitable organisation run by serving and retired members of Grampian Police and was formed in 1990. Since then the Trust has raised and distributed over One Million Pounds, which is a truly extraordinary sum. SIS has been the grateful recipient of many thousands of pounds in recent years, which has gone a long way to enabling us to keep up our standard of service provision. Gordon is the prime mover in maintaining the Trust’s support for SIS and we look forward to continuing our long association and indeed friendship for many years to come.

Lynn Newborn - “Contribution to the spinal cord injured community.”
Contribution to the spinal cord injured community. for 2009 goes to Lynn Newborn of ConocoPhillips based in Aberdeen. Lynn has been the driving force behind ensuring the success of the annual “Oil and Gas Quiz” held every March in Aberdeen and London at the same time. Her seemingly boundless energy is infectious and ensures that the evening goes without a hitch. She has fulfilled this role tirelessly for many years now and it is all the more remarkable that her full-on work life sees her travelling frequently between Aberdeen and Norway, so where she manages to find the time for to create a successful event is anyone’s guess.