An exceptional Luton volunteer has been honoured for her work promoting sports in the local community.
Tina Ashby organised and ran a two-day community festival last year in Leagrave.
At a ceremony in the Copper Box in the Olympic Park, she was presented with a plaque acknowledging her outstanding work by Olympic gold medallist Lord Sebastian Coe, and Barry McGuigan, former boxing world featherweight champion.
Supported by Luton Borough Council’s ‘Your Say, Your Way’ scheme, Tina put on a raft of sports, music, games and other activities to engage families in her local area.
Alongside the Council’s community development team, Tina worked hard to plan, publicise, deliver and tidy up the festival, which more than 1,000 people attended.
As well as providing a fun day out for all of the family, Tina’s festival gave local children the opportunity to take part in sports that some had never tried before, with Wates even building a beach volleyball court for people to try the sport out on!
A number of local organisations supported the festival, including Luton Town Football Club, who ran training sessions, and Active Luton who provided equipment and gave away 15 sports and fitness coaching sessions as raffle prizes.
Community Games, an organisation which aims to give everyone a chance to take part in sport, also provided equipment for the festival and put forward Tina for the award.
Tina’s festival went so well that she even received a letter from the Queen.
Tina said: “I was truly blessed to have been part of such a successful two-day event and to have such amazing support.”
Cllr Khtija Malik, Portfolio Holder for community development, said: “Tina’s efforts and commitment to the festival in Leagrave were absolutely incredible. This was a great example of how ‘Your Say, Your Way’ funding can make a positive difference in supporting grassroots projects and bring local communities together.”
“I would like to say a huge ‘congratulations’ to Tina on her award – she completely deserves it.”