Sporting Champion of the Year Heart of Gold – Sponsored by Puremalt
JACK GORDON
JACK is the captain of Preston Lodge RFC and guided his hometown team to the National League Division Three title and promotion, losing just one league game all season.
The side had been relegated the season prior after a last-day defeat to Berwick.
Under Jack’s captaincy the side responded spectacularly, securing promotion at the first time of asking.
Jack, a sports development officer, described the side’s journey this season as “a bit of a redemption” and he is now looking froward to the challenge of Division Two next season.
ROSS MUIR
A PROFESSIONAL snooker player from Musselburgh, Ross regained his World Snooker Tour card after five years by winning the European Championships and recently defeated former seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry.
In February, he won the Italian Open in style, winning all seven matches without dropping a frame.
Then in April, Ross had his sights on a place in the World Championships but was unsuccessful as he lost narrowly to He Guoqiang in the second qualifying round in Sheffield.
PRESTON LODGE RFC
PRESTON Lodge RFC has been at the heart of the local community in Prestonpans for generations.
In the 2022/23 season, the club suffered the setback of being relegated to National League Division Three, but they have bounced straight back this year, winning the title and promotion to National League Division Two.
The team also enjoyed a fine run in the National League
Cup, losing in the quarterfinals.
The club’s success has created great excitement and positivity in Prestonpans and encouraged more people, including young people, to take an active interest in the club and rugby more generally.
With eyes on Division Two next season, the side’s future continues to look bright.
LEWIS ROLLO
LEWIS is a motorbike racer from Gifford who came back from a serious back injury to enjoy a successful 2023 season and has now moved up to British Superbikes for the first time in 2024.
Lewis, 24, has been on a bike since he was just three before starting schoolboy motocross just two years later.
Since then, he has been racing at circuits up and down the country for many years, and returning home with a string of podium finishes and race wins.
Lewis made his British Superbikes debut last month at the Circuito de Navarra in northern Spain, taking to the track alongside some of the world’s best riders.
DAVIE MARTIN
A PRESENTER at Radio Saltire in Tranent, Davie is a veritable legend in the town.
He has helped raise thousands of pounds for good causes and has been at the heart of a number of fundraisers and good deeds in Tranent and beyond.
During lockdown, he ensured that people who were not allowed to attend funerals could hear the services from outside the cemetery thanks to his PA system. In total, he did 187 such funeral services.
In addition, he has been a key member of the Tranent Belters, who have passed on dozens of riser chairs and mobility buggies to people in need over the years.
KIRSTY MCLUCKIE
DINNER at DGS (Dunbar Grammar School) brings together schoolchildren and older members of the community and is run by Kirsty, a pupil support worker at the school.
Each week, pupils cook, prepare and serve a homecooked meal, then sit down to enjoy it with their guests.
This inter-generational
project has been credited with reducing social isolation in the community and has also helped the school’s participating young volunteers gain confidence and additional social skills.
During lockdown, Kirsty ran a group for older members of the community to learn to use ipads.
ELAINE MORRISON
ELAINE manages East
Lothian Foodbank and works tirelessly to make sure those struggling in East Lothian have somewhere to turn to in their hour of need.
The foodbank has seen demand for support rise in recent years, with staff and volunteers struggling to keep up.
Elaine as been tasked with taking charge of a difficult challenge in ensuring support can be granted to as many people in need as possible.
The work of the foodbank has been praised by MSPS in the Scottish Parliament, with one describing the group’s efforts as “outstanding community service”.
EVELYN WEIR
EVELYN is a podiatry lecturer
at Queen Margaret University who gave up her time over the Christmas period to provide specialist footcare for homeless people in Edinburgh.
Evelyn, from Haddington, has been volunteering to help homeless people as part of the Crisis Edinburgh initiative for more than 10 years.
But helping people on the streets is now part of Evelyn’s DNA – she has been providing specialist foot services for homeless people in the Lothians for nearly 30 years and was recently awarded with the Alf Morris Award from the Royal College of Podiatry for her many years of volunteering with the homeless community.