The tireless dedication, commitment and service within Nottinghamshire’s Armed Forces’ community was celebrated at the third Boots and Beret Awards on Thursday.

More than 260 guests, including Armed Forces champions and dignitaries, attended the showpiece event, organised by Nottinghamshire County Council, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nottingham.

This year’s awards, sponsored by ARC Partnership, SCAPE and Via East Midlands, were presented across eight categories and the winners were:

•    Inspiration Award (sponsored by Experian) – Rick Harrington, Forces in the Community.
•    Reservist Award (sponsored by Heckler and Koch) – Lt Colonel Anita Jackson, Army Reserves.
•    Health and Wellbeing Award (sponsored by Ideagen) – Amanda Morledge, Armed Forces Clinical Champion, Nottinghamshire Veteran Covenant Healthcare Alliance. 
•    Cadet Forces Adult Volunteer Award (sponsored by Business Support Service, Nottinghamshire County Council) – Squadron Leader Rachel Needham, Trent Wing Air Cadets.
•    Employer Award (sponsored Anderson Green) – Andrew Cropley, Principal, West Nottinghamshire College
•    Employee Award (sponsored by Gleeds) – Krystyna Robinson, B49 Ward Receptionist and Armed Forces Champion, NUH NHS Trust.
•    Projects and Events Award (sponsored by Pick Everard) – Andrew Glassborow, representing Worksop Royal British Legion.
•    Community Award (sponsored by Motorfinity) – Neil Fowkes, Forces in the Community.

Former Honorary Colonel, Nicky Weston DL, of the Nottinghamshire Armed Cadet Force, was presented with a special award in recognition of her tireless dedication to champion the children and young people within the cadets.

The glittering ceremony also included a stunning performance by the Nottingham Military Wives Choir, while guest of honour was Brigadier Adam Fraser-Hitchen ADC DL, Deputy Commander (Reserves) 3rd (UK) Division.

Joe Sentence, Business Engagement Lead at the North Nottinghamshire Business Improvement District (BID), was host for the evening.

Councillor Kelvin Wright, the county council’s Armed Forces Champion, hailed the event as a huge success.

He said: “It was a privilege to attend Thursday’s Boots and Beret Awards, and it was lovely to see so many people come together to support the tireless efforts of both those who have served and continue to serve the Armed Forces.

“I am honoured to be Nottinghamshire County Council’s Armed Forces Champion and play a small role in encouraging local businesses and charities to support our fantastic servicemen and women, past, present and future.

“Therefore, I was delighted to see so many smaller organisations win awards for the role they play, and it gave us a wonderful opportunity to recognise their invaluable contributions.

“Even those who did not win an award on the evening are all winners in the eyes of the miliary community and I would like to thank them for their tireless hard work and ongoing support.”

West Nottinghamshire College won the Employer Award and was recognised for having a ‘robust reservist policy’.

It actively employs members of the Reserve Forces and the recognises the contribution reservists make to the country’s defence, their communities and the skills they bring to the workplace.

The college also hosts regular visits from the Royal Navy, Army and RAF career services at its events.

Delighted principal and chief executive, Andrew Cropley, said: “This is fantastic. I am so pleased for all the team that have helped to make us a really strong contributor to serving people, reservists, ex-service people and their families and cadets.

“It really is great recognition for all the hard work we have done.

“We work really hard to support serving reservists. We go out of our way to recruit ex-service personnel; we train service leaders to help with transitioning to a second career and every year we send somewhere between 15 and 20 young people to the Armed Forces. It is really important to us.

“It’s great to be here and to win is just the icing on the cake.”

Worksop Royal British Legion Volunteer Group won the Projects and Events Award in recognition of its ‘exceptional’ community engagement and collaboration centred on the Armed Forces community.

The dedicated team works tirelessly to organise events to strengthen the bonds between veterans, serving personnel, youth organisations and the wider community, helping to educate and inspire the public about the role and sacrifices of the military.

One highlight is the annual Armed Forces Day celebrations, which this year spanned a weekend of events at Worksop Rugby Club.

Andrew Glassborow, of the group and has served in the Queen’s Royal Hussars, said: “We love organising it and Worksop as a town has strong military connections. 

“We, as the Royal British Legion, have been working with Worksop Rugby Club as they provide us with the grounds to organise an Armed Forces Weekend.

“Most people around the country do a day, but because the rugby club has opened the field for us, we’ve made it into a weekend. 

“It’s grown bigger and bigger, and this award is in recognition of our first ever Armed Forces Weekend, we’ve done another one since, but we’re getting bigger and better. This is fantastic and recognises all the hard work we do.”

Rick Harrington, of Forces in the Community in Beeston, won the Inspiration Award for his work supporting vulnerable veterans and their families.

After leaving the military, he founded a service that has become a lifeline for serving personnel, reservists and the veteran community.

He said: “I am deeply honoured to be part of a very small team that I am accepting this award on behalf of.

“It has been a wonderful evening, and I have met many men and women from every military background. I won the Inspiration Award, and it has been a very inspiring night.”

Squadron Leader Rachel Needham, of the Trent Wing Air Cadets, won the Cadet Forces Adult Volunteer Award in recognition of her 20 years-plus service which has ensured that Air Cadet Squadrons in the county are in a healthy and sustainable position.

She said: “I did not expect to win in what was a really strong category. I love doing every aspect of the job I do, and I am collecting this award on behalf of every young cadet, both past and present, who have gone on to great things with their career choices.”

‘Outstanding and inspirational’ Krystyna Robinson, B49 Ward Receptionist and Armed Forces Champion at NUH NHS Trust, won the Employee Award for going above and beyond to ensure the Armed Forces community are ‘highlighted and supported’ both inside and outside of her work.

She said: “It has been a very emotional night for me, and I am absolutely over the moon. 

“I can’t wait to tell everyone om B49 Ward that I’ve won this really prestigious award, my colleagues and all the patients will be thrilled. I love the work I do, and I am very honoured to have been rewarded for it.”