The countdown has begun to the Examiner’s Pride of Huddersfield awards which will be staged at the John Smith’s Stadium on Thursday, May 26, and hosted by ITN newsreader Nina Hossain.

From now until then we will put the spotlight on everyone who has been nominated and shortlisted by focusing on a different category every day. We start with the Emergency Services Personality category.

Pride of Huddersfield Awards

Here are the nominees for Emergency Services Personality:

Anthony Devine

Watch Manager Anthony Devine has a very special role within West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service – and always goes that extra mile to fulfil it.

For the 26-year-old from Cleckheaton is a Diversity Champion for the brigade and has publically put himself forward as a role model, telling his story of being a gay man in the fire service.

Ant, who has worked at Cleckheaton fire station, has been at the forefront of the brigade’s support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) staff and has strengthened the links between West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) and charity Stonewall, which supports gay rights.

WYFRS is one of the first fire and rescue aervices nationwide to support Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign, which originated in football.

Drawing on Stonewall’s ethos of ‘Acceptance Without Exception’, Ant developed this slogan to suit the fire service with the strapline ‘Fire does not discriminate, and neither do we!’

To see the videos Ant is in go to http://www.westyorksfire.gov.uk/campaign/coldwaterkills/

Anthony, who is now working from Leeds Fire Station, also volunteered to play the role of a casualty, stricken in Ogden Reservoir as part of awareness video called Cold Water Kills which the fire service made alongside Yorkshire Water.

Leeds district commander Russ Hepton said: “Ant does a great job for the brigade day in, day out. He is professional, hardworking and conscientious and these personal qualities readily transfer in to his diversity support work with LGBT colleagues.”

WYFRS Diversity and Inclusion Manager Emily Dew added: “Ant consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty to campaign for causes he is passionate about. Ant is a personable and likeable character who talks genuinely and humbly to staff right across the brigade.

“As diversity and inclusion manager I really value his unique insight into his experiences of working as a firefighter in these changing times. Anthony’s work on LGBT inclusion is an important keystone on our diversity and inclusion journey and he is a true asset to the brigade.”

Jean Gledhill

Huddersfield fire station has long been known for its sterling charity work.

But most people won’t know that a very special lady does a lot of work behind the scenes to make it happen.

That lady is the station clerk Jean Gledhill.

Jean, 55, joined the fire service in October 1989, initially at Slaithwaite fire station. She immediately became involved in organising the station open day and fundraising for local charities.

Jean’s role now includes working at Huddersfield, Holmfirth and Skelmanthorpe fire stations.

Over the past 26 years charities to benefit from funds collected from open days and other events where Jean has been involved include the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Kirkwood Hospice, Macmillan Cancer Care, Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, The Fire Fighters Charity, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Leonard Cheshire Beechwood Minibus Appeal and Huddersfield Town Foundation.

Two especially close to her heart are Marie Cancer Care which helped care for Jean’s mum, Alice, before she died in 2010. Alice lost her sight and although did not have a guide dog Jean is very keen to do all she can to help blind people by raising money for guide dogs.

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Every year, Jean has also arranged for local collections to be made for the annual Children in Need appeal. It has become a regular sight to see firefighters outside the station on Outcote Bank, Huddersfield, rattling their buckets from early morning, collecting from passing motorists and people walking by.

Since 2000 this charity alone has benefitted by an amazing £83,763 from the collections outside Huddersfield fire station and the local area.

The nomination from everyone at Huddersfield fire station states: “It is only with Jean’s continued efforts, determination, behind the scenes work, including counting and banking of all the collected funds, that these charities receive this incredible support.”

Jean said: “It’s only been possible with the support over the years not only from staff at the fire stations but also their families and friends.”

Jean, of Slaithwaite, is married to Martin and the couple have three daughters Natalie, 32, Elizabeth, 30 and Helen, 28 along with three-year-old grandson Billy and grand-daughter Betsy who is 20 months old.

Glyn Philips

Examiner Pride of Huddersfield Awards nominee, Glyn Phillips of Highburton, who has saved many lives as a Emergency Services volunteer.

Glyn Phillips has volunteered more than 15,000 hours to saving lives and helping people.

Glyn from Highburton has been a Community First Responder with Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust since August 2009 and has built up all those hours in the role since then.

He was an accountant who took early retirement when he was 59 and replied to a leaflet through his door asking for community responders.

Now 66, Glyn responds to life threatening medical emergencies from his home address mainly within a three mile radius, getting to patients before ambulances. The areas he has covered include Kirkburton, Almondbury, Lepton, Fenay Bridge, Dalton, Shepley, Shelley, Emley and Cumberworth and he gets to the emergency calls in his own car.

He said: “People are sometimes surprised when I turn up in my yellow jacket but they are just so pleased to see someone there quickly.”

Often relatives of someone who has had a cardiac arrest are doing CPR under instruction over the phone by ambulance control and then Glyn will take over with the defibrillator. He has brought back several people who had no pulse when he arrived.

Sometimes he has been called out five times in a day and at others gone three weeks without an emergencies to deal with at all.

Glyn was nominated by John Spikings from the Community Resilience Team, who said: “Throughout the time Glyn has been a Community First Responder he has provided patients locally with immediate life-saving treatment prior to an ambulance arriving or alongside their arrival. He has treated such conditions as heart attacks, strokes, unconscious patients, diabetic emergencies, choking and seizures.

“Glyn has provided treatment in countless cardiac arrest situations and has successfully resuscitated a number of patients in this time. He is a role model and a prime example of a Community First Responder.”

Glyn also supports new volunteers in their role as a mentor, ensuring his community has a volunteer available as much as possible.

John added: Glyn is an inspiration to those who meet him.”

Glyn is chairman of governors at Highburton First School, a churchwarden at All Hallows Church in Kirkburton and an organiser at Kirkburton Beer Festival which raises money for cubs, brownies, guides and scouts groups.

He is married to Karen and the couple have four children, Martin, David, Peter and Helen.

Award sponsor: LV=

We’re delighted that as one of Huddersfield’s largest employers we’re able to help celebrate the achievements of our local community by sponsoring the LV= Emergency Services award.

With more than 300 employees based at our Folly Hall Mills office we take pride in the great service and support that we give to over 5.7 million customers.

LV logo
LV logo

And as a responsible employer with 16 offices across the UK we continue this support through our local partnerships with charities, good causes and projects while offering time out for our people to go out and do good work. Over the last year the Huddersfield Charity Committee has supported over 30 local charities and community groups like the Laura Crane Foundation and Huddersfield Town Breakfast Club, and sent LV= employees out to volunteer for the Greenstreams project.

LV= is one of the UK’s leading car insurers offering a wide range of products from car and home insurance to travel and pet insurance. We also provide breakdown cover to give people peace of mind that they will be recovered if they breakdown at the side of the road.

More information about all of LV=’s products can be found: www.lv.com