THE winners of this year’s Mayor’s Civic Awards picked up their exclusive glassware prizes at a special charity ball this week.

Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Mohammed Hanif, paid special tribute to the volunteers, businesses and community leaders at the Mayor’s Ball and Civic Award on Friday night (March 24).

The awards saw the winners presented with handcrafted glass and a certificate in recognition of their work in one of seven categories.

Chairman of Dudley Private Hire and Taxi Association Shaz Saleem won the coveted mayor’s award after receiving the most votes in an online poll for his work promoting taxi safety and charity fundraising.

Shaz said: “I still can't believe it. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each and every person who voted and believed I deserve this. This only encourages me to work hard and continue the Saleem legacy.

“Massive thank you to the mayor for recognising my work, to my parents for guiding and supporting me, members of the DPHTA for trusting and letting me be your chairman.

“I would like to dedicate this award to my grandad Mohammed Saleem who passed away last year. He was a huge part of my life and I learnt so much from him.”

Runners-up Rose Cook, Keith Stroyde and the Diyya Project also received a glass award for their hard work.

The Duncan Edwards award for sport, went to Andy Pountney (below), chairman of Stourbridge Football Club, for helping to steer the club to the landmark third round of the FA Cup. The runner-up prize went to Mark Grazier who runs Hartshill Strollers Walking Football Club.

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Lorna Morrison picked up the William Shenston award for environment, after impressing judges as chair of the Friends of March Park and Lawyers Field. Don Davies was the runner-up for his work with the Woodsetton Charitable Trust.

The Thomas Attwood award for education went to Roger Timmins, who has been chairman of governors at the Brier School for 25 years, while Alison Pell picked up the runner-up award as head teacher at Hawbush Primary School.

Sarah Andrews was awarded the Mike Holder award for business, after setting up a company to deliver hot meals to the elderly. The runner-up award went to Olutayo Arikawe who provides a pharmacy service from a range of venues including libraries, colleges, churches and supermarkets.

The Cedric Harwicke award for arts went to Jude Moreland (below) who runs In-Sound Company Community Choir after boosting membership from 20 to 80 in just five years. Musician Gurchran Bhujhangy was the runner-up for his mix of music and charity fundraising.

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Finally, the Frank Foley award for community spirit went to Saleh Ali, chairman of the Highfields Tenants and Residents Association, while Vi Wood won the runners-up award for her work supporting the borough’s homeless.

Cllr Hanif said: “It was a real honour and a privilege to be able to meet these amazing people on the night and celebrate the work they do. We have some incredible people who go above and beyond in their communities right across the borough and civic awards is about sharing that work with others.

“It was also great to see so many people at the ball helping to raise money for my chosen charities. They depend on the kindness and generosity of people to help them continue the vital work they do.

“Thank you to everyone involved in making this such a special night.”

Hundreds of people packed the Copthorne Hotel in Brierley Hill for the annual ball which also helped raise thousands of pounds for the mayor’s charities – Friends of Alfie Johnson, Diabetes UK Dudley branch and Dudley CIL.