Reporter Ariane Brumwell tuned into the online PAVO award ceremony which recognises some of the best volunteers Powys has to offer...

SOME of the best volunteers in Powys were recognised on Friday at PAVO’s Powys Volunteer of the Year Awards 2021.

In a first for the Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations, the awards were this year held over Zoom before being posted to YouTube on Friday, September 9.

Hosted by PAVO’s CEO Carl Cooper, president Dame Shân Legge-Bourke and chairman Jamie Burt, the awards were held online due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The night included four awards and one special award: Health and Wellbeing; Governance;; Environment; Art and Culture Award; and finally the special Ian Charlesworth Calon Award which was started in memory of the late former chair of PAVO Ian Charlesworth who sadly passed away in April 2020 - each finalist was interviewed by a category panel before they were awarded their place in the finals.

Gareth Thomas from Ystradgynlais Rugby Club won the first award of the night in Health and Wellbeing for his efforts to raise money and promote mental wellbeing online.

Gareth raised more than £1,000 for the NHS and the Wales Air Ambulance Charity by organising T-Shirt sales, and he hosted live Facebook shows weekly which promoted mental health and wellbeing.

Described by his nominators as inspirational and caring, he was said to have brought positivity and joy in uncertain times.

Speaking about his win over Zoom on Friday evening, Gareth said: “I’d just like to say well done to the other three who were against me in the nominations. I never thought that I would win this evening and I’m very grateful to have helped put Ystradgynlais on the map and I’m delighted to see everyone who’s supported us in the last year and I’m very grateful.

“The award isn’t about me, it’s about the rugby club so thank you very much to everybody for their fantastic work across Powys. Keep it up, you’ve all done fantastically and, as I said, thank you to the rugby club and to whoever who nominated me - I’m very, very, very happy but also proud of everyone in Ystradgynlais so thank you very much.”

Other finalists in the health and wellbeing category was Amy Price from First Knighton Rainbows, super-volunteer Del Ho-Sang from Rhayader, and Ashfield Community Enterprise in Howey.

Each category played a short video for each finalists including photos of the volunteers at work and giving a brief description of what that individual or group does for their community.

The winner of the second category - Governance - was Shân Evans who is the Chair of the Board of Management Committee for the Brecknock Federation of Young Farmers.

Shân was described by her nominator as going “above and beyond for young farmers clubs” in her duties which include finance and controls as well as PR and helping YFC members.

Shân, who was up against the Ponthafren Board of Trustees, said after the honourable Dame Shân Legge-Bourke announced she had won: “Thank you to everyone who organised this evening tonight and congratulations to everyone’s organisations and names that appears here and the many hundreds, if not thousands, of organisations across Powys that benefit from everyone volunteering and sharing their time, their knowledge, their hard work.

“I’m delighted to accept this on behalf of the Brecknock Federation of Young Farmers Clubs, and organisation which I firmly believe gives the rural youth great opportunities. Well done to everyone here tonight and thank you very much.”

Grow For Talgarth won the Environment award at the PAVO Volunteer Awards on Friday adding to their recent string of success.

The group, which started in 2016, hosted a small Zoom party to join the awards - pictured right - where they were up against Blodau Ystradgynlais and eight-year old environmental and litter-picking hero Brea Law from Tregynon.

On Zoom after they were announced as the winners, the group said: “A huge thank you - we’re shocked actually, really shocked. We love what we do and we will continue to do what we do because we’re making spaces for people to sit and enjoy and to really make the town beautiful and to put Talgarth on the map because it’s a beautiful place to be, and more and more people are coming to visit us.

"The local residents are just enjoying everything we do to. So great, thank you - I actually can’t put words to the delight of us winning. Thank you.”

The Arts and Culture category was won by Norman Davies from Newtown - a keen volunteer who spends a lot of his time volunteering as a trustee, treasurer and guide for the Robert Owen Museum and the Newtown Textile Museum. His nominator said he helps to engage people of all ages with the town’s history.

Norman, who was in the finals against mega-volunteer Karen Collins and the Rhayader Carnival Committee also thanked PAVO and the other finalists a he accepted his award over Zoom.

He said: “I just think, I don’t want to sound like I’m at The Oscars, but basically I like to think the award for me is an award for all of the people I work with in the various organisations, particularly the museums but I think also for the back office people like me.

“I think it’s actually wonderful the stories we’ve heard today about the people who’ve volunteered and physically are out there helping people. I suppose I represent the people behind the scenes.”

The final award of the night was up for grabs for all of the finalists which was the Ian Charelesworth Calon Award which was given in memory and remembrance of the late reverend who was described as being “extremely proud” to have been associated with PAVO of which he was a trustee and a director for more than 20 years.

Rev Charlesworth was a passionate advocate of volunteering and he “believed in the power of community” and described volunteers as the “cornerstone of society”. He was described by the current CEO and chairman of PAVO as “enthusiastic” and “indefatigable”.

The organisation with won the special new award, presented by Rev Charelesworth’s widow Catriona who said she and her daughters were touched by the award and to be involved in the decision, was The Rhayader Carnival Committee - also known as The Misfits - which is usually behind the Rhayader Carnival which spans nine days, however during the pandemic the group has organised virtual carnival weeks which have been packed with events which could be carried out at home.

Katy Cronin, who spoke on behalf of ‘The Misfits’, said: “I’d just like to say thank you to everybody - the person who nominated us, the whole community really in coming together.

“They [the committee] have also been going through a hard time during the pandemic but we’ve still wanted to put something on to bring our community together and that is something the carnival has always done, so we’d just like to thank everybody for completely supporting us and for coming together. Thank you ever so much.”

The PAVO Awards 2021 ceremony also took time to honour the volunteers who gave their time to help with the mass vaccination programme across Powys.

PAVO revealed that by the end of July 2021, 378 volunteers had between them given 20,800 volunteer hours at the three mass vaccination centres in Llanelwedd, Bronllys and Newtown - Adrian Osborne, the Programme Director for the Covid-19 Vaccination Programme attributed Powys’ vaccination success rate to the hard-working volunteers.

Chair Jamie Burt said: “Powys Volunteer of the Year is an important date in the PAVO calendar and we are thrilled to be here tonight, especially following the postponement of the competition last year due to the pandemic.

“Our event is online, opening it up to a whole new audience. We are delighted to have our finalists here in a Zoom Room. Tonight is a celebration of volunteering in the county of Powys.”

Mr Burt said that as well as the awards, PAVO and its partners - Powys County Council and Powys Teaching Health Board - wanted to celebrate the contribution of volunteers across Powys of which there are approximately 60,000.

CEO Carl Cooper said Powys has a strong and very proud tradition of volunteering and that this has been demonstrated “particularly admirably” during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Cooper, who spoke in English and Welsh, said: “This explosion of volunteering has enabled our communities to come together to support those in need during the most extraordinary of times.

“Not only have these volunteer heroes seen the impact of volunteering on the people who receive their help, they’re also experiencing the joy and the benefits that volunteering has brought to themselves as volunteers.”

“We in PAVO have been very proud to work with our partners in Powys Teaching Health Board and Powys County Council during the pandemic to support the community of Powys, and now together we’d like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the extraordinary efforts that have been undertaken in every community across the county.”

Mr Cooper pointed out that despite being Wales’ largest county, if the whole population spread out all over Wales there would be a 200 metre gap between each person, but that more than half of adults in Powys volunteer making the gap seem smaller.

Praising the 112 Coronavirus support groups and variety of volunteers ready to help their communities, Mr Cooper said: “Despite the distance between us, we have strong communities and even before the Covid-19 pandemic, 58 per cent of Powys’ adult population volunteered. In the last year, volunteering numbers in Powys have seen an increase of 210 per cent.”