SIMPLY THE BEST
Red carpet rolled out for Pride of the North East
THEY are the everyday heroes who make the North East proud.
We asked you to nominate the impressive and inspirational people in your life for our Pride of the North East Awards, in partnership with TSB.
And last night, celebrity guests descended on Newcastle’s Civic Centre to honour our 14 worthy winners.
Former Newcastle United favourite Steve Harper was one of those in attendance, and he took to the stage to present one of the many awards on a star-studded night.
He said: “I think it’s very important to recognise the unsung heroes of the region.
“I would congratulate anyone who has been nominated – not just the winners – as being nominated is an achievement in itself.
“When you say unsung hero then everyone will have someone who pops into their minds who deserves to be recognised.
“They might not want to be recognised, they’re quite happy doing their work going above and beyond what is probably expected of them to help other people. But I think it’s important on nights like this to recognise those people.
“They might not welcome the attention but I think it’s important if people are working hard under the radar, they should be recognised.
“It is a privilege to be here tonight to present one of the awards to someone very deserving.”
Among the winners was Child of Courage Bradley Lowery, the young Sunderland AFC mascot whose cheeky smile has captured the region’s hearts as he fights cancer.
Bradley was handed his award by his hero, striker Jermain Defoe, whose touching friendship with the Blackhall boy has become wellknown.
After the brave six-year-old was handed his award, mum Gemma thanked everyone for the support they have offered to the family.
She said: “We would like to say thank you to everybody because it’s really overwhelming.
“Obviously he’s our little boy, but the fact that everybody else loves him makes the hard times a lot easier.
“He’s accepting the award on behalf of all the children in the North East that suffer and fight on a daily basis.
“You’re all courageous and we’ll accept it on behalf of them all.”
Among the other winners was another footballing hero, former PE teacher Mark Taylor, who helped hometown team Whitley Bay win the FA Vase, before being hit with the devastating diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease.
Though his condition has left Mark unable to talk, and reliant on a wheelchair, he’s not let that stop him working at Kenton School in Newcastle, helping to improve teaching for thousands of pupils there – an incredible effort which earned him a Special Recognition Award. Before Steve Harper and Steve Howey handed over his prize, Mark’s sister Gemma said: “It’s fantastic, the whole event with so many inspiring people who have done such fantastic things.
“It’s a bit weird that Mark is here because it feels like normal everyday life for us.
“So when people say you’ve done something amazing, it really does hit home how amazing Mark actually is and we’re really, really proud of him.”
The evening was topped off with a stunning performance from former X Factor contestant Sam Lavery, from Coxhoe, County Durham.
Wowing the crowd with her rendition of Jessie J’s Flashlight, Sam said the ceremony made her proud of the region where she was born.
She said: “We can sometimes get overtaken by bigger stories, and forget about people doing incredible things in our own town, our village.
“Those people are so inspiring. It makes me proud to be from a place where people have done such amazing things.”