Do you know someone who has made outstanding contributions to Grassroots Football in Derbyshire?
Dave Heron Award
This award is named after Dave and will be awarded for:
“In recognition of Services to Youth Grassroots Football in Derbyshire”.
Dave Heron was first appointed to the Derbyshire FA Council in 1987 serving as a Disciplinary Chairman, Youth Representative, and member of the Referees Committee. In 2006, he was appointed Chairman of the Association. He served as Chair until 2018 when he became the President of the County FA and was presented with a Life Membership of the Association and a Long Service Award. Dave sadly passed in March 2022.
SUBMIT A NOMINATION FOR THE DAVE HERON AWARD
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John Clarke Award
This award is named after John and will be awarded for:
“In recognition of Services to Adult Grassroots Football in Derbyshire”.
John Clarke spent many years involved in grassroots football. He was the Chair of the Derby City League, Secretary of the Long Eaton Sunday League and was also a referee. John sadly passed in 2016. The Clarke family wished to honour John’s work with an award for fellow volunteers.
SUBMIT A NOMINATION FOR THE JOHN CLARKE AWARD
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Closing date for nominations is Monday 17th July 2023.
We plan to announce the winners at the Annual Awards event which we are planning on taking place in September / October 2023 – more details to come on this once confirmed.
Who won the awards last year?
The most recent winner of the Dave Heron Award was Kevin & Maxine Harlow, who have been involved in Grassroots Football at Hilton Harriers for over 25 years. They have both held main committee roles for the majority of this time, Kevin as club secretary and Maxine as club welfare officer, and have invested hundreds, if not, thousands of hours over the years, building the club from a small village set up, to a club with a pavilion and great facilities in the Mease. The considerable groundwork has been completed singlehandedly over the years by Kevin, in addition to managing all the administrative duties required of the club secretary. Kevin has always attended club and league meetings and despite new systems, player registration issues, affiliation backlogs. Kevin has always completed what is required with minimum fuss and has been a huge supporter of the Derbyshire FA. Maxine has been the Club Welfare Officer for many years and has now, whilst attempting to retire, recruited in excess of 20 assistant CWOs for the different age groups to protect the future of the club and all the hard work that she has invested in the role over the years. Similarly, Maxine has always attended CWO and CFA forums and has again, supported the Derbyshire FA for many years. Both have worked tirelessly as volunteers and it is fair to say the club would not be as successful as it is, without all the time and commitment invested by Kevin and Maxine over the years.
The most recent winner of the John Clarke Award was Mel Williams, who has been involved with grassroots football for over 50 years and has played an instrumental role within the Midlands Regional Alliance Management committee, holding roles as Chairman, and Secretary of Fixtures, Referees and Registers. Mel donates a considerable amount of personal time to ensure that 37 teams with over 700 players could play grassroots football last season.
