The first winner of the Ripon Community Diamond Award has received her special custom-made prize.
Suzanne Bowyer, was selected from a high calibre entry of nominees.
The award was sponsored by The Vintage Rooms and run in conjunction with the Stray Ferret.
It set out to find people who go the extra mile to help others.
The independent judges were the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin and Bishop of Ripon The Rt. Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley.
Suzanne selected a custom-made white gold necklace featuring the diamond as her prize.
They chose Suzanne for her outstanding work at the Community House Food Support service in Allhallowgate.
It has helped hundreds of people trapped in food poverty because of the financial strain brought by the pandemic.
The presentation of a custom-made necklace with diamond, white gold setting and chain was delayed because of the covid lockdown.
Now, however, Suzanne has collected her prize and said:
“It’s a great honour to receive this award.
“I look on it as recognition for the whole team.
“They work so hard at Community House and continue to help people in need.”
Speaking on behalf of both judges, Dr Hartley, pointed out:
“There are so many community-minded people in Ripon
“Any one of the nominees would have been a worthy winner.
“That meant we had the very difficult task of finding just one individual.”
The original idea for the award came from Mike and Liz Cooper, owners of Red Buttons Jewellers and Hedley Hall, who run an antiques, vintage models and collectables business.
The friends traded together in the former Wrens department store and, when it closed, relocated to The Vintage Room in Queen Street.
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Mr Cooper, said:
“We congratulate Suzanne on her selection as the city’s first community diamond and thank all those who made the award happen.
“Through the nomination process, we found out about the people who are the beating heart of Ripon and make it such a special place.”
