Great Big Thank You Awards: Inspirational local heroes celebrated at ceremony
The great and the good gathered to celebrate inspirational members of our communities at a special awards ceremony last night.
Stars, dignitaries, MPs and awards sponsors gathered at the WV1 Suite at the Molineux Stadium in order to celebrate our finalists in this year's Express & Star's Great Big Thank You Awards.
Last year the finalists were whittled down from hundreds of submissions to 23 finalists across eight categories including Community Champion, Young Star, Ambassador and Fundraiser of the Year. Our loyal readers then voted in their dozens for their winners.
And last night the winners – who work tirelessly to make our communities better, go that extra mile to help others or have succeeded against all odds – were announced during a glittering awards ceremony attended by famous faces including Britain's Got Talent finalist Donchez Dacres, Black Country comic Doreen Tipton and cycling legend Hugh Porter.
Entertainment throughout the evening featured Mark Harrington, president of Wolverhampton Circle of Magicians, West Midlands singer and songwriter Tanny Blue and Mr Wiggle and Wine himself, Donchez.
The evening was compered by Signal 107's Dicky Dodd – who was last year named as the Great Big Thank You Award's Ambassador of the Year.
He said: "This is the third year the Express & Star have hosted these awards, to honour the unsung heroes in our local communities.
"Each year we hear about some amazing people who help their neighbours, who reach out to those in need and generally go that extra mile without asking for anything in return.
"These are the people whose compassion, kind hearts and selflessness help others make the world a better place."
For photos, video and a full list of winners, visit expressandstar.com on Saturday or pick up a copy of Saturday's paper.
