I have been waiting some time to share this news with you all and thanks to Sense I was able to verbally share this on the radio last week and I am able to confirm that I have been shortlisted as "Journalist of The Year" and now it is down to the final 3.
I am in very prestigious company in this final selection process, alongside Nikki Fox & the BBC Access team and Ruben Reuter of Channel 4 News. Firstly, I would like to thank whoever nominated me and wish the other 2 finalists all the best of luck. Also, all the other successfully shortlisted people and organisations in the other categories.
As you will remember during Lockdown we continued to broadcast, but as I shielded, I took the momentum to qualify as a freelance journalist, being awarded distinction, and the news stories have gone from strength to strength. With the hard work, Chesil Radio, is now a source for news locally and some fun stories along the way, alongside the seriousness of disabilities and the struggles our team faces as two-thirds of the team have a disability of their own to deal with but still give their time freely.
I may use I in the news stories, but we are team that works hard for the local community, as you will see in particular in the next few days as we continue our connection with Carry on Beating 2, hosting a quiz at The Royal Oak on Dorchester Road, in Weymouth. We are a small team, but we have mighty enthusiasm to reflect the local community and area in positive light, where possible and to support those smaller community groups and businesses in any way we can.
These awards are in their 20th year and celebrates the achievements of people with complex disabilities and those that support them with Sense, the national charity. As you know from my broadcasts and posts, I do have days when I do struggle and hide away from the world but am always doing something for the station behind the scenes, even if it is a couple of posts/blogs.
There are 13 categories to be awarded on the 23rd November 2023, hosted by presenter and actress Samantha Renke. There were hundreds of nominations which were whittled down to the final 3 in each category with disabled celebrities, influencers and disabled activists as judges, which include: singer-songwriter Alice Ella, chef and TV presenter Briony May Williams, Paralympian Siobhan Fitzpatrick, children’s author Dan White, and disabled influencer Lauren Gilbert.
We look forward to the award date to see who the successful winners are, and to see more about the lucky 3 for each award category please see: https://www.sense.org.uk/sense-awards/shortlist/
This news story has been produced by Chesil Radio's News Team, for more information please visit: https://www.chesilradio.com