Local Achievers Celebrated at Thame Town Awards

On Thursday 18 July, four individuals and two local businesses were honoured for their contribution to the community at the annual Thame Town Awards.

Since 2009, Thame has celebrated the people who work to make the town a safer, more vibrant, and happier place to live. This year, a record number of over 300 nominations were received in five categories – Company of the Year, Service with a Smile, Creative Arts Contribution, Sporting Contribution, and Volunteer of the Year.

This year’s Thame Town Awards event was held at the Thame Barns Centre. Thame Mayor, Cllr Andy Gilbert was the night’s MC.

Here are the 2024 winners:

Service with a Smile – Monkey Puzzle
This relatively new business received nominations for its consistently good service from friendly and welcoming staff and wonderful atmosphere. Many of the business’s staff members were also nominated individually in this category for their exceptional customer service.

Creative Arts Contribution – James McCann
James was recognised for his many years of voluntary work at Thame Players Theatre as lead of the technical team providing sound and lighting. He also oversees health and safety and compliance and upgrades and maintains the theatre’s facilities.

Company of the Year – Morrisons Daily
A vast number of people who nominated this business singled out the store’s young manager, Tyler Fox, for turning the business around, particularly the Post Office counter. Tyler was praised for regularly communicating with the community with updates regarding parcel deliveries and collections and responding to comments on social media.

Volunteer of the Year – Martin Davis
Martin received a whopping 111 nominations – a Thame Town Awards record – for his tireless work as a Community First Responder for South Central Ambulance Service, a role he has held for over 10 years. Martin is considered a local hero. He volunteered over 200 hours per month during the Covid pandemic and attends, on average, 6 category-one calls each month.

Sporting Contribution of the Year – Ashley Roff
Ashley was recognised for walking 41 marathons back-to-back in less than a month, covering an incredible 1085 miles (equivalent to the length of the UK). He broke a toe, pulled muscles, dealt with numerous bites and skin infections, but still continued on his quest to achieve his goal. 

Special Mayor’s Award – John Hulett
John was the headteacher at Barley Hill School for 16 years. Since his retirement in 2011, he has thrown himself into volunteering and fundraising for good causes. He is a trustee of both Sharing Life Trust, which operates the Foodbank and Community Larder, and the Red Kite Family Centre.