Powerchair Football and local volunteer scoop first prizes

Both the Frome Falcons Powerchair Football Club and local lad Josh Stobie picked up awards at the inaugural Somerset’s Unsung Heroes Awards.

Hosted in Chard, the event showcased the finest work in the community across the county which saw 10 awards up for grabs.

Nominated in the ‘Organisation/Team of the Year’ category, the Frome Falcons saw off the competition thanks to their spectacular growth and uniqueness to help children with physical disabilities play football.

Picking up the award was the club’s chairperson, Linda Munro, and coach, Alex Johnson. They were both joined by Linda’s two sons, Ian, 11 and Joel, 8, who play for the team.

Joel said,  “I was shocked that we won when we were up against some other really good organisations, but really happy to receive the award.”

Ian also stated that he was “really, really happy that we won.”

The Munro family were also nominated for the Family of the Year category, thanks largely to Ian’s successful fundraising of £6,000 for his own football powerchair. On this occasion, the family were runners-up.

Perhaps one of the defining moments of the evening however came when local lad Josh Stobie, 15, was announced as the winner for the Peer to Peer Supporter of the Year.

A pupil of Critchill School, Josh was recognised for his work in helping his friends at school through coaching them different sports. As a regular volunteer of organisation Nova Sports and Coaching, Josh’s rapid development has even seen him teach his friends how to coach sport as well as play.

Alex, from Nova Sports and who nominated Josh said, “I’m incredibly proud of Josh for everything that he has done and achieved. He has boundless energy and his attitude is fantastic. I am lucky to have him helping me and he is incredibly deserving of this recognition!”