Johnny Thomson 00:00
If you didn’t know already, we’ve got five, yes that’s five, opportunities for your village hall to receive £1,000, so keep listening everyone. Hello, I’m Johnny Thomson, and welcome to The Village Halls Podcast sponsored by Allied Westminster, the UK’s largest specialist provider of village hall insurance and the home of VillageGuard. Now, back in March, we launched something new called The Wonderful Villages Awards. And since then, we’ve been receiving entries from people up and down the country. But you know what, we’d like to receive a few more. So I thought we’d give you all a quick reminder of the various categories of what we’re looking for, and information on how to enter. And to save me from rabbiting on too much, I’ve been joined again by Gavin Mitchell, MD, of Allied Westminster, who of course are our headline sponsors of both the podcast show and these awards. Hi Gavin, thanks for making it on for what I think could be your fourth appearance on the show.

Gavin Mitchell 01:04
I think it is. Thank you very much, always great to speak to you.

Johnny Thomson 01:08
And it’s always great to have you on.

Gavin Mitchell 01:10
Thanks you Johnny

Johnny Thomson 01:11
Now know Gavin, before we talk a little bit about each award category, why not briefly tell me why you and your company of course, are so keen to support Britain’s fantastic network of village halls.

Gavin Mitchell 01:26
Well Johnny, we’ve been insuring village halls now for close to 20 years across the length and breadth of the country. And despite the diversity of village halls, large, small geographical, there is massive commonality, there’s massive, massive commonality in terms of the mission, what they’re trying to achieve for the local communities. And I think a lot of them share the same problems. You know, they look for the same sorts of solutions, you know, whether it’s fundraising, and so on, and so forth. And they’re such an integral, and such an important part of rural communities. And, you know, we’ve been looking after thousands and thousands of halls for you know, almost 20 years. And, of course, we all went through the crisis of the pandemic. You know, we helped quite a lot in terms of generating funding for village halls, because even then there wasn’t commonality. You know some areas of the country the village halls got grants without too much of a problem. Other parts of the country, our clients and other village halls we know, weren’t getting money. So we were sharing ideas, cross fertilitizing ideas, you know, giving them template letters they could send to the MPs and so on and so forth. But it is a community Johnny, it’s a community of interest, it’s a community of mission right across the whole country, from the Highlands to the South Downs. It’s something we’re very passionate about. And it’s something you know, we try and help them as much as we can, other than just insuring them, trying to keep them in touch, trying to create a bit of fun, which is what this is about.

Johnny Thomson 02:55
Yeah. And as I’ve already mentioned, part of the support that you’re giving is to put up the prize money for The Wonderful Villages. Awards.

Gavin Mitchell 03:04
Indeed.

Johnny Thomson 03:04
So how about, we quickly run through the five categories, each of which could result in your hall out there receiving £1,000 in funding, as long as you enter of course. You’ve got to enter haven’t you Gavin, you’ve got to be in it, to win it as they say. Yeah, that’s right.

Gavin Mitchell 03:25
Well there’s only one hall that we know, not allowed to enter. And indeed, that’s one of our judges, isn’t it? Simon. We ruled his hall out right at the off.

Johnny Thomson 03:37
We did.

Gavin Mitchell 03:38
Sadly.

Johnny Thomson 03:41
He’s not even here to answer for himself either, right now. I just remining me he’s not in for a winning prize. Okay, brilliant Gavin. So let’s begin with Project of the Year. Fairly straightforward this one, yeah?

Gavin Mitchell 03:57
Okay, yeah. Well this is a broad category and it applies to almost any project your local village, church or community hall has delivered, or is currently delivering to support your community. It could range from rebuilding or upgrading your facilities to an initiative to develop a community business or to tackle loneliness and isolation, for example. In fact many of the things that have been covered in many of the podcasts that we’ve been listened to over the years. So here we’re looking for evidence of hardworking commitment and success, or progress in achieving the project’s objectives. So when we say Project to the Year, we mean a project that we’re awarding this year in 2022. And we recognise any project that has started within the past five years, and indeed the project can be ongoing. It doesn’t really have to come complete this year. And of course, many projects aren’t completing because they were held back by COVID. But the award is going out this year and as I say, it spans back for anything that’s essentially kicked off in the last five years, even if it hasn’t quite completed yet. That’s basically it for the Project of the Year Award Johnny.

Johnny Thomson 05:09
Brilliant. And then in a similar kind of vein, but slightly different, we’ve got the Innovation Award as well. And this one is seeking to recognise new or progressive ideas from village halls that also could really inspire others. So anything that is forward thinking really. Perhaps a project that’s connected to improving the environment, for example, or that takes like a digital approach. I think it would be nice if we could be surprised, you know, with this one, if you can, because as I say, the idea is also to inspire others. You know, this is all about sharing ideas and bringing information, you know to other halls, as well as awarding a hall for coming up with something that’s particularly innovating.

Gavin Mitchell 06:00
Good one.

Johnny Thomson 06:02
Gavin.

Gavin Mitchell 06:03
Next one?

Johnny Thomson 06:04
Yeah, Young Persons Award.

Gavin Mitchell 06:08
Young Persons Award. Well this category has a broad interpretation and is best explained in the word, involvement. I mean the Award The may recognise the participation and contribution of a young person connected with a village, church or community hall. Or it may highlight the efforts of the hall to attract and involve young people as trustees, or providers of facilities or services to the local community. Now if the hall involves or is actively doing something that seeks to involve young people, and by young people, certainly a lot younger than us Johnny, no offence. By young people I mean up to about 25 years old, but we’re not being very strict about that. Essentially, up to about 25. There’s no strict definition of young as I say, but we’re simply looking for what could be teamed, or termed rather as the next generation taking on the mantle. And this is something that’s very dear to our hearts, because most of the people involved in halls are of the older age group, and it’s just fantastic when you see young people getting involved in the halls, especially coming in as trustees. That’s great, because that’s all about the sustainability of the hall for the local community, bringing the young people in. So the Young Persons Award is definitely something we’re very keen to support.

Johnny Thomson 07:28
Yep. And one interesting fact about this Award so far, this is the one that we’ve had the least entries for Gavin. Now, I think there’s two things to take from that. The first thing might be that, that could be a sign that there is a certain shortage of young people being involved in halls. So there’s a message in that to begin with. But of course, the other side to the coin is, if you are able to enter one of the categories, this is probably the one so far that you’ve got the best chance of picking the prize up for so…

Gavin Mitchell 08:03
Well, that’s very true.

Johnny Thomson 08:05
Yeah, I would, you know, I would really encourage people to have a think and get their entries in on this one in particular. Next we have what we’re calling the Inspirational Story Award. So here, we’re looking for really any kind of story that is connected in some way with your village, church or community hall. So it could be linked to the history of your hall for example, or an unusual event, or perhaps even just an interesting character from the past or from the current times. To be honest, this is simply just a case of you telling us your tale and hopefully it’ll inspire us in some way. So that’s the Inspirational Story Award. And fable Gavin there’s the The Unsung Hero or Heroes Award.

Gavin Mitchell 08:58
Yes, The Unsung Hero or Heroes Award. In fact, if I may wind back just a second Johnny, The Young Person’s Award, exactly the same as The Unsung Hero or Heroes Award is a singular or plural. It might be a group of young people, it’s not necessarily one person.

Johnny Thomson 09:05
Yeah, good point.

Gavin Mitchell 09:16
It’s a young person’s initiative. Now, Unsung Hero or Heroes Award… This category recognise an individual or group of individuals who have worked tirelessly to support their local community through their involvement with the local village hall or church or community hall. Now this could mean service to the community over a long period of time or the recent delivery of an impactful initiative. Quite simply, we’re looking for local heroes or hero who consistently goes beyond the call of duty and who deserves recognition for their effort and dedication. Now, we’ve seen this time and again in village halls across the country. We’ve heard it in the podcasts, but we really want to hear more about it. We want people to get this information out, get out to your local communities recognise, pat them on the back, give recognition to people who have really delivered for the village hall and the local community.

Johnny Thomson 10:11
Yeah, I mean, that’s the real purpose behind this one, isn’t it? So there are so many unsung heroes that dedicate so much time and so much effort to their local community and their village hall, and it will be lovely, you know, just just just to give these people that recognition and also provide some funding on the back of that to the, to the hall that they serve and the community that they serve.

Gavin Mitchell 10:32
Indeed, indeed and if I could just add something Johnny, which I think it’s very good… We must be close to or you must be close to, what have you done almost 50 podcasts?

Johnny Thomson 10:42
Yes, it’s around 50 episodes now, yeah.

Gavin Mitchell 10:45
So I mean, all I was going to say was if people haven’t listened to the podcast, tune in and go to the website, listen to them. There’s some fantastic podcasts in there and this may give you some idea of the very sort of things we’re trying to provide awards for. There’s some fantastic stories and anecdotes and, you know, helpful podcasts on fundraising to goodness knows what else. There’s loads and loads of good stuff, mental health, all sorts of things… keeping your hall secure, lots and lots of things. But I think there’s a wealth of information there. But the important thing is that you know, these awards we’d like this to get out into the local community. We’d like the village halls to promote this. We’ve got a poster, a flyer, put it up on the noticeboard in the village hall, get the community involved, get £1,000 back for your village hall.

Johnny Thomson 11:36
Brilliant. There you have it. Five opportunities to win £1,000 for you village hall. And something there for everyone as well hopefully Gavin.

Gavin Mitchell 11:45
Indeed, indeed. So, you know, it’s… ah I don’t have the date in front of me, Johnny, what’s the date we close off?

Johnny Thomson 11:52
Perfect timing. We need the entries in Gavin by 31st October.

Gavin Mitchell 11:57
31st October.

Johnny Thomson 11:59
Yeah, so it’s not too far away iss it really now, to be honest?

Gavin Mitchell 12:02
No, but plenty time to, plenty time to publicise it, plenty tend to publicise it. So…

Johnny Thomson 12:07
Yeah and full details are on our website at thevillagehallspodcast.com, along with some guidelines for entering, and those all important entry forms. And you can find those promotional flyers and so on that Gavin mentioned there as well. We’re asking you to limit your entry to 600 words at most, but we may well get back to you for more details. So please make sure you give us those all important contact details. And there’s one more thing as well, isn’t there Gavin?

Gavin Mitchell 12:38
Indeed? Which is Johnny, sorry…

Johnny Thomson 12:44
Gavin, you know I knew, I knew I would get you with that one. Sorry listeners, that was my little practical joke on Gavin, I thought I would just play that. Yeah, yeah, there is there is one more thing just to say, keep listening as well, for the next few episodes of the podcast coming out soon, as I’m going to be talking to a few people who have already sent their entries in for the Awards, just to help you get even more of an idea of what it is we’re looking for. So listen in to those next few episodes that are coming. Sharing ideas and things that work is what these awards and our podcasts are all about, of course, isn’t it Gavin?

Gavin Mitchell 13:28
Very much so, very much so. Informative and some of it’s very amusing. Some good stuff in there. So yeah.

Johnny Thomson 13:35
Especially when you play a practical joke on your…

Gavin Mitchell 13:36
Thank you Johnny, that was great.

Johnny Thomson 13:38
…on your sponsor.

Gavin Mitchell 13:39
I don’t really remember you writing these in the notes, but that was good you were gonna catch me out there. Thank you Johnny.

Johnny Thomson 13:47
Yeah, I’m waiting for the revenge now, of course.

Gavin Mitchell 13:50
Ah, I’ve already started thinking it through!

Johnny Thomson 13:52
So there you have it, that’s The Wonderful Villages Awards. And as I said, you’ve got until 31st October to get your entries in. Thanks very much Gavin for coming on. And being such a a good sport as well. And for all your support as our headline sponsor of course. You can find out more about the excellent insurance service that Gavin and his team provide at VillageGuard.com of course. And thanks to, to online booking system provider Hallmaster, who also sponsor our podcast and can be found at hallmaster.co.uk. You’ve been listening to The Village Halls podcast, a unique listening community for Britain’s village, church and community halls, and anyone interested in the vital community services they provide. We’ll be back again soon with another episode. So if you haven’t already, please visit thevillagehallspodcast.com to subscribe, sign up for updates, link through to our social media pages and to find out more. But until the next time, goodbye for now.

Gavin Mitchell 14:01
Absolute pleasure.