Next week the Pride of Reading Awards will be celebrating 20 years of honouring local people who have done extraordinary things for their communities.
An organiser from the beginning and now a Patron, SALLY SWIFT explains how the annual awards grew from small beginnings but, with willing sponsors and supporters and brilliant nominees and winners, grew into the biggest event in the Reading calendar.
“There have been thousands of nominations and hundreds of winners over the past two decades, and so many heartfelt stories, with awards recognising the exceptional bravery of people and the compassion others have shown for family, friends and communities.
In 2004, the very first meeting to discuss an awards event took place at what was then The Renaissance Hotel, now the Pentahotel, in central Reading.
No sponsors in place, no idea if it would work, but there was lots of passion and enthusiasm from the Reading Post, Chamber of Commerce, Reading 107, Reading Borough Council and The Renaissance Hotel itself.
Plans were put in place and, after months of hard work and a lot of hope and plenty of crossed fingers, the first awards ceremony took place in November 2004.
Reading’s own Chris Tarrant hosted, the town’s top comedian Ricky Gervais sent a good luck message and ten very exceptional people received their awards.
Reading’s Paul Rouse, a top European Elvis tribute act, led the finale as winners took to the stage to be celebrated by guests in a rousing singsong, now an awards’ tradition. That year the song was, appropriately, the Elvis hit The Wonder of You.
Paul will be back to lead the finale again at this year’s lunch on Friday, October 25, at the Reading FC Conference Centre and Events at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
The partnership between the council and the Reading Post ensured the successful continuation of the event, changing venue to the Crown Plaza in 2008.
More sponsors came on board and the number of awards increased and, in 2012, the lunch ceremony moved to what was then Madejski Stadium and has been held there ever since.
Sir John Madjeski has been a longtime supporter and Pride of Reading patron and, in 2016, won a special award from awards organisers for his commitment to the football club and the town, In the same year he was made a Freeman of the Borough.
In 2015, when the Reading Post closed, deputy editor Hilary Scott was determined that the awards should continue. Hilary and I worked with the Pride of Reading committee to ensure the event went from strength to strength.
Sadly we lost Hilary in 2022 and heartfelt tributes were paid to her at that year’s event as we remembered her huge contribution to the awards.
And a new category was added inspired by her and in her honour, sponsored by Cream Design. This was the Hospitality Award which recognises excellence in the hospitality industry, either an individual or business that has shown resilience, outstanding dedication to their customers and a strong commitment to Reading.
From 2012, each year a new theme for the event was chosen. That year it was London 2012 after the capital had delivered a fantastic Olympics. Guests included Reading lad Chris Mears, who in 2016 was to win the first Olympic gold medal in diving, and gold medal winning Olympic rower Zac Purchase was also welcomed.
The centenary of the start of World War One was the theme for 2014. Cook Martha Collinson of The Great British Bake Off fame made a Victory Roll Pudding.
As another nod to the theme of Remembrance, local artist Atelier Pelin designed a beautiful clay poppy which was auctioned. A fantastic £1,000 was bid for the poignant piece which went towards the Trooper Potts Victoria Cross Memorial Fund. The memorial to the bravery of the Reading soldier and the men of the Berkshire Yeomanry was unveiled in 2015.
In 2016 we celebrated Reading’s Year of Culture. Cultural awards were won by arts organisation Beautiful Creatures, for their Winter Giant, with an outstanding achievement recognition for Reading born Hollywood star Kate Winslet.
In 2019, it was Love Where You Live with Reading based ska band The Skangsters opening the event.
In the wake of the Covid emergency, Frontline Heroes was the theme in 2021 with a special recognition award for Royal Berks Hospital staff for their herculean efforts. The hospital’s Dwyane Gillane also won Employee of the Year for his work in supporting his colleagues during the pandemic.
TV presenter and Reading lad Matt Allwright joined Reading lass and ITV News Meridian reporter Mel Bloor to front the awards.
And over the years Pride of Reading has donated more than £75,000 to Chris Tarrant’s chosen charities.
This year we celebrate our 20th anniversary but it is really a celebration of the wonderful people of Reading.
The Pride of Reading Awards would not have been a success without them and if businesses in the town had not come forward to sponsor the scores of categories, highlighting the vast number of people who make Reading such a vibrant, caring and compassionate place to live and work.”
