This year, the grand prize of £10,000 went to Lawrence Howard, founder and coach of the Typhoons Rugby Club in Lancashire. Lawrence was surprised with the award at his club by TV presenter, Andi Peters, and SPAR UK staff. It was a real celebration with the whole community coming together to celebrate what Lawrence has done, helping bring together the local community through rugby.
Commenting on his award, Lawrence said: “It’s become obvious that inclusive clubs can be in every community and not limited to big cities. What we’ve seen tonight is a perfect example of how an inclusive rugby club can inspire people from all backgrounds to take up the game. It’s such an honour to even be nominated, just to know you’ve had an impact on someone’s life. This money will go towards helping us grow the club, providing funds for training equipment and travel to tournaments.”
Louise Hoste, SPAR UK Managing Director, added her congratulations and said: “Well done to Lawrence and all of our runners up. They epitomise the individuals we look to recognise with this award and they deserve to be celebrated. As a local convenience store business, we are proud to be able to reward grassroots sporting heroes where our SPAR stores are situated. We would also like to thank everyone for their nominations. This year’s campaign was an outstanding success, with a record number of contenders.”
Four additional regional runners up were chosen and surprised at their local clubs. Each received the sum of £2,000 and include:
The People’s Podium campaign demonstrates SPAR UK’s local community credentials and its commitment to always being there for local people and their communities.
Source: SPAR UK
About SPAR UK
The UK became a member of SPAR in 1956 when a group of independent wholesalers was granted the SPAR licence by SPAR International. There are five regional partners in the UK with strategically placed Distribution Centres in each region. A central office, located in London, provides national marketing and buying services for the group and supports the development of the brand.
SPAR has led the convenience market in the UK for many years but has faced increasing competition. Always innovative, the five regional partners have continued to grow the brand. Throughout the UK, a combination of independently-owned licensed retailers and company-owned stores can be found, spanning forecourts, airports, train stations, city centres, and local neighbourhoods.
