Cheers for volunteers: John and Stuart celebrate at 4J Awards

Wednesday 16th November 2022

John Mackay with the Tom Stillie Sword and Stuart Donnelly with Ross Paterson (photos by Bobby Gavin)

Decades of dedication: HLM awards to Sandra, John and Liz

Volunteers are the very bedrock upon which our sport is founded and it was great to celebrate that at our 4J Annual Awards Dinner.

So many of our recipients on the night come into that bracket, of course, as we made key presentations to Officials, coaches and clubs.

And there were two specific volunteer awards which met with great approval on the night and from the wider sport.

John Mackay of Shettleston Harriers won our Tom Stillie Award for 2022 while our Volunteer of the Year is Stuart Donnelly, the chair of Team East Lothian.

Congratulations to both John and to Stuart, and indeed to three other individuals short-listed for the volunteer of the Year award.

Read on for some background on John and Stuart . . .

John Mackay received the Tom Stillie commemorative sword from our President, Ron Morrison (photo by Bobby Gavin)

‘Our 2022 winner of the Tom Stillie Award is an individual who has made significant contributions to our sport over the past 50 years.

‘From starting out as a sometimes-selected schoolboy athlete, John’s athletics career really took off as a Senior athlete when he competed for Scotland on the track and roads.

‘He is now better-known as a coach, and he contributes hugely to community outreach work by Shettleston Harriers.

‘In recent years, John has tracked athletics statistics back to the 1800s and co-authored his club’s Centenary book as its statistician.

‘John is also an active member of the Road Running and Cross Country Commission and a seasoned event organiser of club open graded meetings, the Babcock 10K series and the Alan Scally Relays.

‘Alongside and support by wife Elaine, John has become totally synonymous with Shettleston Harriers.’

+++

Stuart Donnelly received his trophy from Team Scotland Birmingham 2022 athlete, Ross Paterson (photo by Bobby Gavin)

‘Stuart is the chair of Team East Lothian, as well as being a qualified coach and Official.

‘He regularly volunteers up to four nights per week, as well as supporting events at the weekend.

‘His fundraising efforts have also made a significant impact on the sport both within East Lothian and nationally.

‘Stuart brings a huge level of energy and professionalism to volunteering, and has been instrumental in the club’s progress in recent years.

Also short-listed for the Volunteer of the Year award were: Andy Ronald of Falkirk Victoria Harriers and Maureen Stewart and Annabel Bain of Stornoway RAC.

AWARD WINNING! Officially! Thank you @scotathletics and @4JStudios for the celebrations and @elcourier for telling everyone the good news ??#madeineastlothian @DarrenC55855125 @stuartd007 pic.twitter.com/2yzkkDHNHV

— TeamEastLothian (@TeamEastLothian) November 10, 2022