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Julie Nicholls

Sheppey FM

Julie is the Project Manager at Sheppey 92.2FM Community Radio in Kent. She is a huge CMA and community radio sector supporter. Julie has hosted many CMA and Radio Hub meetings and events at the radio station in Sheerness.

David Thorpe

Ofcom

David Thorpe works on the Spectrum Engineering team at Ofcom. Amongst his other responsibilities, David leads Ofcom's relationships with Community Radio licensees and has been working at the regulator since its inception in 2003 and before that at The Radio Authority. He attends lots of community radio events and is always at the end of the phone when you have a problem. David has taken on community radio issues when stations have found it hard to get to the right people. This award is for his dedicated service.

Dr Lawrie Hallet

University of Bedfordshire

For long-standing service to community radio from the early days in unlicensed radio to the Access Radio experiments of 2002, to ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’ working for Ofcom on the first community radio licences, to running one of the first SSDAB trial multiplexes and pushing broadcast  technology forward.

Kevin Field

Radio Wanno

Kevin has been running HMP Wandsworth’s radio station ‘Radio Wanno’ for many years and is an exceptional leader and thinker on community radio and podcasting. Radio Wanno, teachers prisoners to read and write, use computers and to make great radio. The station has won multiple awards, including Radio Academy Station of the Year and The Butler Trust Award. As well as working for the prison service, he helped launch Maidstone Radio and has been a long time judge at the Community Radio Awards.

Bill Best

Radioplayer

Bill was a long standing CMA staff member. Familiar with many CMA members as someone who always went out of his way to help. Helped the CMA set up and maintain the streaming service Canstream and planned and ran many CMA events and projects over his twenty years of service. Bill is currently working at Radioplayer helping new Community Radio projects onto the platform.

Clive Glover  

Former CMA Council member

Clive was on the CMA council for many years and is helps other members with his wide knowledge and experience of the sector.

Nick Wright

Canalside Radio

For longstanding commitment, passion and advocacy of community radio. The sector would be a poorer place without Nick.

Javed Sattar

Awaz FM / CMA

Javed has played a major role in the history of community broadcasting in the UK and has had a long-standing commitment to the CMA where he’s been a Council member for many years. He founded Glasgow’s Asian radio station Awaz FM in 1996 and started broadcasting with the first RSL in 1997, moving onto the access pilots in the early 2000’s. His commitment and knowledge in the sector has helped countless other community stations in Scotland and across the UK.

Dom Chambers

Sound Vision

The creator of the Community Media Champions, this award was a surprise for Dom handed to him at the Community Media Festival 2023. Since 2008, Dom has run Somer Valley FM in Somerset. Starting out in Hospital Radio he has worked in most radio sectors over a career spanning 25 years. Dom has chaired the CMA twice and the Radio Academy’s Affiliate Members Group. Having visited over a hundred community radio stations Dom is well researched in what makes successful models of local broadcasting. He bridges grassroots knowledge with national strategic vision. Known for driving an agenda that links media with education Dom is also the CEO of the Sound Vision Charity. His training programmes help meet significant social challenges around isolation and well-being while advancing the value to society of empowering voices less heard. Somer Valley FM are the first business in the Bath area to receive the Princess Royal Training award. In 2018 this came with an additional commendation from City & Guilds for diversity and inclusion.

Ram ‘Kelly’ Kalyan

Unity 101

Community Radio Station Manager, awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Arts by Solent University in July 2019. Educated in Nairobi and England, Kelly is a qualified electronic engineer in sound and lighting. He started working in the media industry while at college and following several years as an engineer, started working as a self-employed professional presenter in 1979, being voted Best Regional DJ by the Disc Jockey Federation of Great Britain.

Wendy Pilmer

Community Radio Fund

Long standing chair of the Community Radio Fund

Soo Williams

Ofcom

Long standing representative for Community Radio at Ofcom.

Danny Lawrence

Gateway 97.8

Former Chair of the Community Media Association Danny set up networking group The Radio Hub which connects community radio stations with events and training. He also represents the sector at Ofcom and led a hugely successful project distributing DAB digital radio sets to the vulnerable and isolated during the coronavirus pandemic.

Anthony Smith

Angel Radio

Anthony worked every day through the Covid pandemic to ensure older people are entertained, informed and stimulated by listening and taking part in Angel Radio. Working an average of 80+ hours a week. Also ensuring the expansion of Angel Radio continues to reach more and more older people.

Steve Buckley

CMA

Steve was a leading light in the establishment of the UK community radio sector and for setting up the CMA. Additionally, Steve’s international work representing the community media sector to the European Community, the World Bank, and to the United Nations over the years has contributed to the global perception of the benefits community media can bring.

Amarjit Khera

Desi Radio

Amarjit set up and ran a highly successful community radio station from the first days of the Acccess Radio pilot scheme. Desi Radio based in west London is the largest radio station for the Sikh community in the UK providing entertainment, information, and education.

Mary Dowson

Bradford Community Broadcasting

Director of Bradford Community Broadcasting Mary has run BCB FM a highly successful community radio station from the first days of the Access Radio pilot scheme. She works hard to make sure the station is inclusive for the whole of the city of Bradford.

Lesley Pullar

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Lesley has a long standing commitment to the community sector prior to the establishment of the first Access Radio pilot stations. She served as a Council Member at the CMA and a trustee of The Radio Academy.

Fergus O’Hare

Raidió Fáilte

Established Raidió Fáilte which provides Irish language services to the Irish-speaking community in Belfast. Fergus was also involved in the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland as a member of People's Democracy in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Later he became a founding member and executive member of the Northern Resistance Movement, which continued to campaign for civil rights in Northern Ireland.

Terry Mann

GTFM

Established a community radio station serving Pontypridd and surrounding areas of Rhondda Cynon Taf in South Wales. GTFM provides an exemplary service to the local community and has responded to the pandemic in a positive way for the benefit of the local community.

Ian Robertson

East Coast FM

Scotland’s East Coast FM was the first community radio station to be awarded The Princess Royal Training Award. Ian paved the way for a number of community radio stations to follow. East Coast FM is in Haddington.

Andrew David

Siren FM

A former Chair of the CMA, Andrew joined the University of Lincoln in 2006 and has led Siren’s creation, development, growth and success for the last 16 years. Andrew has also been a key contributor to the teaching of Journalism in the College of Arts.

Sone Palda

Westside Radio

Sone is dedicated to discovering, developing and managing the next generation of broadcast and digital media talent. Sone has managed many different radio stations and is recognised as an innovator for having created and launched BBA Radio, the UK’s first station, dedicated to young British Asians in 2000.

Toby Whitehouse

Gaydio

Co-founded LGBTQ+ radio station Gaydio in 2006. It was conceived as a pop-up station for Manchester Pride. Toby made the annual Independent on Sunday Pink List, at number 29. The list features Britain’s most influential lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Lol Gellor

Sound Radio

Lol is a pioneer of community radio, a long-standing CMA member. He set up and ran one of the first Access Radio stations, Sound Radio in Hackney in 2003.

Ros Connors

Gateway 97.8

Ros co-founded Gateway 97.8 in Basildon, Essex in 2010. Ros oversees all programming, producing content and presents five days a week.