ACoRP Community Rail Awards 2019

[whole diary]

[bobm]

After last year's trip north of the border to Glasgow, the 2019 Event will be on the 3rd October in Telford.

[grahame]

After last year's trip north of the border to Glasgow, the 2019 Event will be on the 3rd October in Telford.

From https://communityrail.org.uk/events-training/community-rail-awards/

ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships)’s Community Rail Awards recognise and reward the hard work and dedication of everybody involved in community rail. They also help ACoRP to understand what’s happening in community rail, its innovations and successes, so we can share good practice year-round.

The Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) ‘Community Rail Awards’ gala dinner will be hosted at The International Centre, Telford, on 3 October 2019. The headline sponsor for this year’s event is West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway.

Awards entries open 15 April 2019 and can be made online at the ACoRP website

Opening today 

[grahame]

https://communityrail.org.uk/events-training/community-rail-awards/

2019 entry categories

1. Involving Children & Young People sponsored by Merseyrail
2. Involving Diverse Groups sponsored by Great Western Railway
3a. Community Art Schemes – Permanent and Larger Projects sponsored by Abellio
3b. Community Art Schemes – Renewable and Smaller Projects sponsored by Transport for Greater Manchester
4. Most Enhanced Station Buildings and Surroundings sponsored by Northern
5. Small Projects Awards (£500 or less) sponsored by Community Rail Lancashire
6. Best Community Engagement Project sponsored by Rock Rail
7. Best Marketing or Communication Campaign sponsored by Govia
8. Influencing Positive Change sponsored by TransPennine Express
9. Tourism and Heritage sponsored by Transport for Wales *New Category*
10. Photo and Video Competition – “Community Rail in Action” sponsored by Porterbrook
11. Outstanding Volunteer Contribution sponsored by South Western Railway
12. It’s Your Station sponsored by West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway
13. The ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) Award for Outstanding Contribution to Community Rail

The awards entry page will be open shortly.

[grahame]

From West Midlands Railway

The search for the excellence in the community rail movement begins today (17 April 2019) as entries open for the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships)) Community Rail Awards. The awards, now in its fifteenth year, celebrates and rewards the innovation and hard work from the unsung stars of the community rail movement.

This year’s awards will venture into Shropshire, being held in Telford on the 3 October 2019. Headline sponsors, West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway, are planning a great programme of events alongside to welcome UK^▸ (United Kingdom) wide attendees for this greatly anticipated occasion.

Familiar categories such as “Involving Diverse Groups” and “It’s Your Station”, make a welcome return and will be joined this year by a new award, “Tourism & Heritage”. This category celebrates innovative and effective ways of promoting community rail to a tourism audience, through delivery of specific initiatives or events.

Award entries can be made online at the ACoRP website (communityrail.org.uk), using the easy to complete online entry system. This year’s Entry Booklet, outlining the award categories and criteria is also available to view online and download. As always, the awards are free to enter and open to everybody.

Richard Brooks, customer experience director for West Midlands Railway, said: “Community rail activities make a huge difference to across our networks, and the Community Rail Awards are a fantastic opportunity to recognise the work that goes on. All this work makes such a difference to our customers, staff and most importantly the communities and volunteers themselves. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the engaging projects that will be recognised this year, and also to welcoming attendees to the awards to join us for an exciting range of activities around the main event - more details to come."

Said Hazel Bonner, ACoRP Events & Fundraising Manager: “The search for winners culminates at our prestigious annual awards ceremony and is a highlight of the community rail calendar. Winners and guests can look forward to a to a great evening that celebrates everything that great about the community rail movement. Making it to the short-list is an achievement in itself, and I look forward to welcoming all our short-listed entries there.”

[grahame]

ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships)’s Community Rail Awards recognise and reward the hard work and dedication of everybody involved in community rail. They also help ACoRP to understand what’s happening in community rail, its innovations and successes, so we can share good practice year-round.

The Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) ‘Community Rail Awards’ gala dinner will be hosted at The International Centre, Telford, on 3 October 2019. The headline sponsor for this year’s event is West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway.

Awards entries open 15 April 2019 and can be made online at the ACoRP website

And closed last night.  The team Behind the Counter has taken a look at how our various forum projects have been moved forward this year; always an opportunity to look at how others see you as you write up these things, and a "Supremes" set of entries went in.  For the first time this year, the submission task for ACoRP was split across the team, and my huge thanks go out to those newly involved on behalf of the Coffee Shop and its members.

[bobm]

According to a tweet from ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) there were a record breaking 200+ entries across the various categories.

[grahame]

According to a tweet from ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) there were a record breaking 200+ entries across the various categories.

So that'll be an average of about 16 entries per category (but some such as "best marketing campaign" and "best idivisula volunteer" tend to attract far higher numbers, I believe).  Whittled down to short list of about a half of that, with about 3 dozen (3 places in each of 12 categoies) being placed.

With 61 Community Rail Partnerships as ACoRP members across the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) (accoutring to the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) video), it's about 3 entries for the average CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership), though we are reminded theres' nothing "average" as all differ to local needs.

[grahame]

The shortlist for ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) awards will be announced on 7th August. 

I'm priveliged on this forum, and in other stuff I'm doing with rail this year, to see so many excellent community projects. So I'm sure the standard will be very high indeed again.  Wishing all entries in our 'neck of the woods' the very best for being shortlisted, and indeed placed and winning at Telford in October.

[grahame]

Short listed entries for the annual ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) awards are to be informed / announced today.  And I'm preparing this text to post ahead of time to cover two eventualities - that the Coffee Shop, from where three entries were made, has ... or has NOT ... had something on a shortlist.   I'm not a betting person and I'm especially not going to bet or guess on today.  Whilst I believe that we have submitted some excellent entries for what was a very interesting year for us, there is a wide and strong (and more conventional) Community Rail community and I'm sure the judges will have been offered a very large number of superb entries in just about every category.   

We have progressed leaps and bounds in 12 months - but at the end of the day the judge's choice will be based on absolute achievement and not relative movement over a year.   So - whatever the day brings - our admins, moderators and members should be proud of what we have achieved and look forward in a positive way to the year ahead and perhaps to next year's awards - for which (I think) we already have a project or two to enter!

[grahame]

Short list published {{here}}

6. Best Community Engagement Project – sponsored by Rock Rail
Bolton Station Community Development Partnership – Making Bolton Station a Thriving Community Hub
Conwy Valley Railway – Betws Y Coed Station 150 year Celebration
Community Rail Cumbria – Cumbrian Community Rail Festival
Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership – CreativiTea Trains
Great Western Coffee Shop Forum – Great Western Passenger Forum – Community Involvement for the next decade
Kent CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership) – Sea Folk Sing on the Train
Sussex Community Rail Partnership and Southern – Commemorating the First World War on the railways
Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership – Wylam Winter Tales

I had submitted two entries on behalf of the Coffee Shop - delighted with the short listing above - we didn't make it in the under £500 category though.   The full text of our shortlisted entry is at http://gwr.passenger.chat/ac6_2019.pdf - it was all online this year in multiple boxes, so that's a composite document.   Big news is that it's a huge THANK YOU to all the work the admins, moderators and member have done in engagement with the community during the year June 2018 to June 2019.

[Celestial]

I think you're missing one notable entry though, aren't you grahame, in category 11   

(though I guess you weren't the proposer for that one?  )

[rogerw]

I think you're missing one notable entry though, aren't you grahame, in category 11   

(though I guess you weren't the proposer for that one?  )

This was proposed by BobM on behalf of the Coffeeshop after a resolution at the AGM^▸ (Annual General Meeting) (in Grahame's absence)

[grahame]

I think you're missing one notable entry though, aren't you grahame, in category 11   

(though I guess you weren't the proposer for that one?  )

This was proposed by BobM on behalf of the Coffeeshop after a resolution at the AGM^▸ (Annual General Meeting) (in Grahame's absence)

I am utterly delighted to see my name there - thank you.

ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) notify the proposer of each shortlisted entry ... and indeed BobM has texted me; seems they don't notify individuals short listed - so I got quite a surprise at the text (Bob - thank you - please excuse my stunned response)

Been a buzzy old day - Bob's was out at work, I'm moving my mobile number and confusing everyone with the answer back ... and other things more personal going on I won't bore you (I'm OK, we're all OK).

[grahame]

Shortlisted in the South and West ... let me know if you spot any I missed.

1. Involving Children and Young People – sponsored by Merseyrail
Hounslow and Richmond CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership) with South Western Railway – National Citizenship Service Project
Sussex Community Rail Partnership – Active Access for Growth

2. Involving Diverse Groups – sponsored by Transport for Greater Manchester
South Western Railway, East Hampshire CRP, Isle of Wight CRP and Three Rivers CRP – Community Ambassadors and Community Rail Partnerships
 
3a. Community Art Schemes: Permanent and Larger Projects – sponsored by Abellio
Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership – Gunnislake Tile Project
 
4. Most Enhanced Station Buildings and Surroundings – sponsored by Northern
East Hampshire Community Rail Partnership – Refurbished Petersfield Hub Office
 
6. Best Community Engagement Project – sponsored by Rock Rail
Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership – CreativiTea Trains
Great Western Coffee Shop Forum – Great Western Passenger Forum – Community Involvement for the next decade
Sussex Community Rail Partnership and Southern – Commemorating the First World War on the railways

7. Best Marketing or Communications Campaign
Blackmore Vale CRP – Line Guide
Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership – Looe Valley Line heritage project

9. Tourism and Heritage Award – sponsored by Transport for Wales Rail
Sussex Community Rail Partnership – Signing the North Downs Way

10. Photo and Video Competition – sponsored by Porterbrook
Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership – All aboard the CreativiTea train
Friends of Templecombe Station – Friends of Templecombe Station at work
Severnside Community Rail Partnership, Link Age and Great Western Railway – Overcoming Loneliness with Games on the Train (Film)
South Western Railway – New Mums take new trip

11. Outstanding Volunteer Contribution – sponsored by South Western Railway
Andy Hedges  – Volunteering with Tarka^▸ (Line from Barnstaple to Exeter) Rail
Graham Ellis – Melksham Rail Users Group volunteer

12. It’s Your Station – sponsored by West Midlands Railway & London Northwestern Railway
Evesham Railway Station Gardens – Evesham station adoption projects
Copplestone Station Friends – Copplestone station adoption projects
Friends of Angmering Station – Angmering station adoption projects
Friends of Templecombe Station – Templecombe station adoption projects

edit to correct one of the entries above

[grahame]

Four of our team headed up to Telford for tomorrow evening's Community Rail Awards, where a Coffee Shop entry is shortlisted - see http://www.passenger.chat/ac6_2019.pdf . Competition looks strong, and considering that the award isn't just GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) "land" but right across GB^▸ (Great Britain), we've done pretty well to get even this far.   The Coffee Shop is, of course, quite unlike anything else that's around - so I would rank us as having an outside but not insignificant chance of being placed.   There is also a shortlisted entry with Coffee Shop interest in the "individual volunteer" category.   Some very kind words have been written (about me) - see http://www.passenger.chat/acorp2019_cat11.pdf - fingers crossed but that category always attracts the stiffest competition of the lot ...

Writing up two entries (the category 6 one that got shortlisted and another one - http://www.passenger.chat/ac5_2019.pdf which fell at the first hurdle) was / is a superbly useful way to self-check what we are doing here, and get a peer review from an independent panel of judges.    And - whatever the outcome tomorrow night - the process generates industry exposure and general publicity - much more of that should either entry by placed.  Finally, it gives those of our team who are going an excellent opportunity to network , and to see and hear of other projects where the community is engaging with the rail industry.