· Rugby Icon Doddie Weir OBE receives People’s Award for his extraordinary fund-raising efforts for people with Motor Neurone Disease
· Outstanding Contribution Award for Dame Laura Lee, founder of Maggie’s Centres, a shelter for cancer patients both in Scotland and internationally
· 11-year-old schoolboy wins Child of Courage Award after pulling his grandad from a fast-flowing river, after he suffered a bleed on the brain during a fishing trip
· The People of Bute awarded TSB Community Heroes Award for opening their doors and hearts to families fleeing the war in Syria
The inaugural Daily Record Pride of Scotland Awards 2020, in partnership with TSB, is set to air on STV and the STV Player this New Years Eve at 10.45pm.
The Awards, which celebrate ordinary people doing extraordinary things, will see 11 awe-inspiring Scots being recognised for their outstanding achievements, as we take an uplifting and celebratory journey into 2021.
The driving force behind a nationwide food bank launched in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, a teen fundraiser who has raised more than £420,000 since the age of five, and the entire community of the Isle of Bute are among the unsung heroes that will be celebrated during the 90-minute show, hosted by Kirsty Gallacher and Elaine C. Smith at the University of Glasgow’s iconic Cloisters.
After a year of extraordinary challenges, uncertainty and change, it has been more important than ever to lift the spirits of the nation and acknowledge those individuals and groups who have gone above and beyond for others. Filled with awe-inspiring winners’ stories and some emotional celebrity surprises, the inaugural Pride of Scotland Awards is not to be missed.
Over 50 of Scotland and the UK’s biggest celebrities will come together on 31st December to honour the 11 extraordinary winners and first ever recipients of the Pride of Scotland trophies.
Public figures and celebrities include HRH Duchess of Cornwall, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Sir Andy Murray, Sir Rod Stewart and Lady Penny Lancaster, Gordon Ramsay, Rita Ora, Michael McIntyre, Jermaine Defoe, Stephen Gerrard, Sharleen Spiteri, The Vamps, Gregor Townsend, Ally McCoist, Katherine Jenkins and Lorraine Kelly.
Magical moments that are sure to capture the hearts and imaginations of viewers across Scotland and the UK include:
· 12 year old schoolgirl Katie Pake from Glenrothes, becoming overwhelmed with emotion when she was surprised with her award by one of her favourite artists and Texas lead singer, Sharleen Spiteri, during an exclusive tour of Abbey Road Studios.
· A touching encounter between Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil and Shetland coastguard volunteer Jamie Newlands who, whilst out on his very first major rescue operation, descended a 130ft sea cliff in storm-force winds to rescue a teenage boy from the incoming tide.
· HRH The Duchess of Cornwall surprising Peterhead-born Dame Laura Lee – the founder and chief executive of the international network of Maggie’s Centres – with the Outstanding Contribution.
Maggie’s Centres help cancer sufferers with everything from dealing with the effects of treatment to advice on money worries, and they were the brainchild of one of nurse Laura’s former patients, Maggie Jencks. After Maggie died in 1995, Laura set out to make her vision a reality – and there are now more than 30 Maggie’s Centres in operation across the globe.
Other winners include a 77 year old from Glasgow recognised for his 40 years’ service as leader of the Glasgow Humane Society – the oldest continuing lifeboat service in the world; an 11-year-old from East Ayrshire who rescued his grandfather from a remote stretch of the River Irvine after he suffered a stroke during a fishing trip; a HGV driver who saved a mum and three children from drowning after they were swept out to sea during a trip to a Mallaig beach; a former young carer who, after becoming homeless and narrowly avoiding a jail sentence, has turned his life around and now advises the Scottish Government on issues such as mental health and poverty; and Scottish rugby icon Doddie Weir OBE, who is fighting motor neurone disease and set up a charity in 2017 to raise funds for vital research.
Seeing us into 2021 will be a fireworks spectacular and exclusive performance by pop band McFly.
There will also be a stunning performance by Tom Walker and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, as well as a special star-studded rendition of Auld Lang Syne led by Scottish icon Sir Billy Connolly and featuring famous faces including Annie Lennox, Alan Cumming, Jodie Whittaker, JJ Chalmers, Edith Bowman, Billy Boyd, Andrew Robertson and Karen Gillan.
The Daily Record Pride of Scotland Awards, in partnership with TSB, will be broadcast on STV on 31 December at 10.45pm.
COMPLETE LIST of WINNERS:
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT | Dame Laura Lee, 55, London
Driving force behind Maggie’s, the ground-breaking Scottish charity that is transforming cancer care across the globe.
When 17-year-old Laura Lee left home in Peterhead to train as a nurse, she wanted to work with cancer patients so she could offer them help and support over a sustained period. Today,37 years later, Laura’s compassionate, caring ethos forms the DNA of the world-leading cancer charity that she brought to life on the grounds of her Edinburgh hospital.
Maggie’s Centres help cancer sufferers with everything from emotional support and dealing with the effects of treatment to advice on money worries. The original idea came from one of Laura’s patients, Maggie Jencks. It was her dream to provide a homely environment for patients, unlike the windowless corridor where she had been left to process the news her breast cancer was terminal.
She would often talk about her vision with Laura. The two became close friends and worked on the initial plans together, pouring over designs at Maggie’s hospital bedside. After Maggie died in 1995, Laura, along with Maggie’s husband Charles, made sure that vision became a reality.
The following year the first Maggie’s Centre was opened in Edinburgh, in a beautiful new building designed by leading architect Richard Murphy. Since then, as CEO of the charity, Laura, 54, has overseen the opening of 24 centres across the UK and internationally, all designed by leading and award-winning architects, with 280,000 visitors every year.
PEOPLE’S AWARD | Doddie Weir OBE, 50, Blainslie
Rugby hero fighting motor neurone disease who launched charity to help fellow sufferers and raise funds for vital research.
After a career inspiring the nation with his leadership on the rugby pitch, Doddie is now inspiring us all with his courage and dignity in the face of a devastating illness.
Doddie earned 61 caps for Scotland and toured with the British and Irish Lions. With his big personality, and trademark blue and yellow tartan suit, he was always the life of the party.
In 2017 Doddie revealed he had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. The devastating condition has no cure and a life expectancy of one to five years following diagnosis. In Doddie’s case, doctors told him he would be in a wheelchair within 12 months.
Determined to help others facing the same plight, Doddie and close friends and supporters, launched My Name’5 Doddie Foundation to help fund research into MND and support fellow sufferers of this devastating disease. To date the Charity has committed £5.8 million to MND Research.
It has invested in the Glasgow-based charity, Funding Neuro, and committed £250,000 to the drug repurposing work led by Professor Siddarthan Chandran at the University of Edinburgh. An additional £780,000 is being invested in supporting the pioneering clinical trial, MND-SMART.
In addition, the charity has given almost £1million to MND Scotland and MND Association to administer as grants on their behalf. This money has helped hundreds of people living with MND. The father of three continues to raise awareness and advocate on behalf of people living with motor neuron disease.
Meanwhile, the inspirational sportsman who never ducked a challenge on the pitch, continues to defy the odds. While he has lost power in his hands, arms and neck, he is still going to his boys’ rugby matches and leading his charity from the front.
YOUNG FUNDRAISER OF THE YEAR | Jenny Cook, 17, East Kilbride
Teenager with a debilitating condition has spent more than a decade raising hundreds of thousands of pounds to help others like her.
Jenny suffers from ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease. When she was six, surgeons removed her large intestine, meaning she had to adjust to life with a colostomy bag. In 2010, she was able to have a j-pouch created from her small intestine, meaning her colostomy bag could be removed.
Despite her own health issues, Jenny dedicates her free time to fundraising for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital and the Catherine McEwan Foundation, which supports people living with IBD.
She held her first event when she was five – a cheese and wine night at her primary school, which raised £5,000. Twelve years later, her total from events including an annual tea party stands at £420,000.
Jenny also speaks at many Glasgow Hospital fundraising events, as well as offices and schools to create awareness of her condition. With a commitment to helping other children manage the disease, she has also volunteered as a hospital buddy, meeting and supporting other young patients.
Now a Young Ambassador for Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, Jenny, 17 organises fundraising events all year round from a customised office in her back garden.
She also found the time to achieve five A-grades in her Highers.
STV CHILDREN’S APPEAL CHILD OF COURAGE | Katie Pake, 12, Glenrothes
Schoolgirl on a mission to help fellow child cancer patients has raised thousands with her inspirational campaigning.
Keen swimmer Katie’s parents took her to the GP when she complained a sore knee was affecting her performance in the pool. Tests revealed she was suffering from osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. Intensive chemotherapy failed to eradicate the tumour and it was then discovered that the disease had spread to her thigh and spine. Doctors told her parents that she had a 20% chance of survival.
They tried a new type of chemo, which thankfully eradicated the cancer in her thigh and spine, but it did not work on the tumour on her leg. Their only option was to amputate the limb, in an eight-hour operation two days before her 10th birthday.
Before the life-saving operation, Katie wrote “Please recycle” on her leg, in the hope the cancer tissue could be used in research.
Since the amputation, Katie has made it her mission to increase awareness of childhood cancer and raise money. She has raised thousands of pounds and is an ambassador for the children’s cancer charity Love Oliver.
Katie, who has now been given the all clear, takes off her artificial leg to swim and has won gold medals at the junior and senior Scottish Disability Sport National Swimming Championships. As well as training four times a week in the pool, she plays football and is a wheelchair racer.
CHILD OF COURAGE | Greg Galloway, 11, Galston
Schoolboy who pulled his grandad from a fast-flowing river after he suffered a bleed on the brain during a fishing trip.
It was Greg’s first fishing trip with his grandad, and the youngster had just caught his first salmon from a remote stretch of the River Irvine. But as his grandad John Howe, 61, was helping him take it off the hook, he suffered a stroke. He lost feeling in his left side and fell into the water.
It was getting dark and the water was flowing fast, but Greg, then nine, waded in and managed to drag him out of the water and on to the bank. He then used John’s phone to call his mum, Jennifer.
Somehow Greg managed to shift his papa out of the water and onto the embankment, where he kept him awake and constantly reassured him that help was coming. Greg then directed Jennifer over two fields to the exact spot where they were fishing so she could find them. Jennifer then contacted the emergency services and John was taken to Crosshouse Hospital, where he has since made a full recovery.
EMERGENCY SERVICES | Jamie Newlands, 36, Shetland
Coastguard volunteer who climbed down a cliff in storm force winds to save a stranded teenager in a race against rising tide.
Two teenagers had got into difficulty after climbing down a 130ft cliff to the sea in Fethaland on the north tip of Shetland. While one of the young men had managed to climb back up, the other was stuck at the bottom.
By the time Coastguard were called in, he had already been there for two hours. It was dark, the tide was rising and the weather was deteriorating.
A rescue helicopter was first to arrive but could not fly close enough to the cliff face in turbulent conditions to attempt a rescue. The helicopter and the Aith Lifeboat then used searchlights to illuminate the scene, so that a rope rescue team could set up their equipment.
Rope technician Jamie Newlands, 37, a volunteer on his first major rescue operation, descended the cliff in storm force winds, rain and heavy squalls to pull the teenager to safety from the incoming tide, taking him back to the top where he could be winched aboard the helicopter and taken to hospital where he recovered fully from hypothermia.
OUTSTANDING BRAVERY | John Haughie, 32, Tullichewan
HGV driver and army reservist for 7 Scots, who rescued mum and three children from drowning after they were swept out to sea during a family day at the beach.
John was relaxing on the sand in Arisaig, near Fort William, when he heard his partner Cheryl and daughter Kiera screaming and cries for help.
Ben McCallie, 14, his sister Poppy, nine, and eight-year-old Lewis McCorkindale were playing in the sea, but a strong undercurrent had pulled them out into deeper water. Katrina McCallie, mum of Poppy and Ben, and sister to Lewis, had run into the sea to help them, despite not being able to swim.
She had not realised how sharply the seabed dropped away and was quickly in trouble herself. That was when John, 32, from Alexandria, ran into the water and dived under the surface to grab the three drowning children and Katrina and dragged all four of them to safety.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION | George Parsonage, 77, Glasgow
Rescued more than 1,500 people from a treacherous stretch of water during a lifesaving career spanning four decades.
George, 77, spent 40 years pulling people from the murky waters of the River Clyde as leader of the Glasgow Humane Society, the oldest continuing lifeboat service in the world.
In that time, he has used his motorboat to rescue more than 1,500 people, including the woman who became his wife. He was even called into action on his last day on duty before retirement.
George began assisting his father with river rescues in the 1950s when he was still a teenager. After his father died in 1979, George took over from him as chief officer at Glasgow Humane Society.
George says the society is a family unit. His wife Stephanie, and sons Benjamin, and Christopher, are also involved. George and Stephanie met when Stephanie, an international rower who competed for Scotland, capsized while training. George went to the rescue and for his efforts won her heart.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION | Charandeep Singh, 31, Glasgow
The driving force behind The Sikh Food Bank, a multi-faith team of volunteers who delivered more than 80,000 meals to families over lockdown.
Launched in March in direct response to the pandemic by the Sikhs in Scotland charity, the Sikh Food Bank was set up to help the most vulnerable across all sections of the community, including those self-isolating, families struggling to make ends meet, as well as the elderly or homeless.
Volunteers deliver groceries to people unable to go to the shops themselves, as well as food parcels and hot meals. They also run a check-in phone service, available in English, Panjabi, Hindi and Urdu, to help combat loneliness and isolation.
Supported by a 50-strong team of volunteers, Charandeep led the delivery of more than 100,000 meals and food parcels during lockdown across Glasgow as well as in Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen.
In the run-up to the return to school they also provided packs to help children in need with supplies and resources.
TSB COMMUNITY HERO | Angela Callaghan and the People of Bute
At the height of the migrant crisis, Angela and her community threw open their doors and their hearts to families fleeing the war in Syria.
In 2015, 24 Syrian families arrived on the Isle of Bute as part of the UK’s pledge to welcome 20,000 people fleeing the war-torn country.
At a time when not everyone in Britain was open to new arrivals, Angela Callaghan was among those who helped the families get settled and used to their new island life. She led the island’s reception committee and also helped organise donations of everything from shoes and blankets to spices and chickpeas to make the newcomers feel welcome.
Angela also repurposed the food bank she runs on Bute, one of Scotland’s most deprived areas, to help the new residents. Several of the young Syrians later helped Angela with her drive at Christmas to hand out gifts and food parcels to other under-privileged families.
Five years on, 17 families remain, putting down roots including some who have started their own businesses including a hairdresser, Syrian take-away and bakery. They learned English and the children are now a part of the local schools.
THE PRINCE’S TRUST YOUNG ACHIEVER | Reece Hayes, 24, Glasgow
After a traumatic childhood and struggling with his mental health, Reece now helps to inform others on issues such as poverty, mental health and violent crime.
Reece had a traumatic childhood as a young carer and as he struggled to cope, he became angry, suicidal, and picked fights with anyone he could. Caring for his mum since he was 11, life was often very manic and difficult to deal with, due to the difficulties around her poor mental health.
Realising that living at home was only exacerbating the problem, Reece moved out and spent five months in a homeless unit before securing his own tenancy. Yet despite this change in living situation, he still found it difficult to cope.
After narrowly missing a jail sentence, Reece got a mental health assessment, was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, given medication and support from a counsellor, and referred to The Prince’s Trust. From there, Reece secured an interview for Get into Retail with Tesco, a Prince’s Trust programme run in partnership with Tesco, to give unemployed young people the skills and experience they need to find work in the retail sector.
As a Prince’s Trust Young Ambassador, Reece has since shared his story with other third sector organisations, Scottish government committees, MSP’s and delivered a TEDx Talk in Glasgow – sharing his experiences with an audience of over 2,000 – as part of a special Year of Young People 2018 TEDx Youth event.
After completing a college course in Social Services and volunteering at a prison working with male prisoners, he is now in his second year of a Social Work degree at the University of Edinburgh. He has also contributed to think tank focus groups helping to inform the Scottish Government on issues such as mental health, poverty and violent crime.
Furthermore, Reece has worked with a Scottish Government policymaker for six months as part of the Poverty Trust Commission. During this time, he shared his own experiences with the justice system and police to help shape prison reforms and policies for the future. Currently as well as studying, Reece is working part-time as a Mungo Foundation support worker with adults with disabilities.