Award win music to festival’s ears
Organisers from one of the county's fastest growing music festivals have been named as the best volunteers in the Midlands at an annual awards ceremony.
The committee of Broseley Festival won the prize for Volunteer of the Year at The Midland's Business and Community Charity Awards for their work to ensure the music event has enough funding to expand year on year to benefit the community.
Since 2014, teams of volunteers have raised more than £120,000 to organise the event, which this year attracted a record turnout of more than 8,000 people.
The awards were created in 2016 as a non-profit organisation with a sole purpose of recognising groups and organisations that have a positive impact on businesses and communities in the Midlands area.
Debbie Glaze is the managing director of the festival committee and her son, Daniel, is director.
They said: "Both us and our team were completely taken by surprise when we were announced as this year's Volunteer of the Year Award winners.
"We feel truly honoured that people took the time to vote for us and it shows us how many people appreciate what we do for our community as a team.
"The awards ceremony was incredible and to be in a room with so many other inspirational people was a true honour.
"The night ended with an incredible performance by Beverley Knight which was an amazing way to end a night of celebration with so many of the Midlands' unsung heroes."
The committee was initially nominated for the award earlier this year before a flood of votes were cast in July, meaning it was shortlisted as a finalist to the awards ceremony at Aston Villa F.C's Villa Park.
In addition to Broseley Festival winning the Volunteer of the Year Award, the Inspirational Honorary Award was presented to Midlands-born popstar and TV presenter Jamelia and the Lifetime Achievement Honouree Award was presented to Wolverhampton-born recording artist, actress and musical superstar Beverley Knight.
This year’s Broseley Festival line-up saw Viva La Coldplay headline the main stage and The Beautiful Ways take the main slot on the Memorial Gardens stage at the bottom of High Street.
The committee said its members are currently discussing arrangements for expected growth next year and already have a host of band applications that have been submitted.
The sixth Broseley Festival will take place on June 20 and 21, 2020.
