AFTER months of anticipation the winners of this year's Pride in our People awards were revealed by celebrity chef Brian Turner on Thursday.
There were gasps of surprise and disbelief by all the winners who all said they were simply delighted to be invited to the glittering awards ceremony,held for the first time at the University of West London's restaurant, Pillars in central Ealing.
This was the ninth year the Pride in our People awards had been launched by the Gazette and University of West London with the highest number of entries for the six categories: My Hero, Business, Community Champion, Young Person, Student of the Year and Key Worker. All 18 finalists, their families and friends, local VIPs including MPs, Ealing Mayor and Mayoress and Ealing Council leader Julian Bell and his wife, Hermia attended the event which is now recognised as one of the local highlights of the year.
The winners were: Key Worker: Emma Kinani, Community champion: Vanessa Hyman, My Hero: Antonio Manderioli, Young Person: Lilit Movsisyan, Business: Ealing Green Local Supermarket owned by Amrit and Ravi Khurmy, Student of the Year: Tamas Mityok and overall winner, the Star of West London: Antonio Manderiolo.
Brian Turner presented each winner with a £500 cheque and stunning glass trophy before announcing a special trophy, the Good Citizen award - August 2011 given this year in memory of Richard Mannington Bowes, who died following last summer's riots, while trying to put out a fire in a bin. His tearful sister Anne Wilderspin, who with her husband Michael had travelled all the way from Derbyshire, accepted the trophy on his behalf.
