It was a star-studded celebration of Huddersfield’s finest.
And the inaugural Huddersfield Black Community Awards gave a special honour to a man who has been a huge part of the town’s African and Caribbean communities for more than 50 years.
Johnny Flowers, who is now 77, took the Lifetime Achievement award.
He arrived in Britain from Jamaica back in 1961, and moved straight to Huddersfield. He worked for Metro until the mid 1970s, when he set up Ashbrow Garage, in Ashbrow Road, Huddersfield .
Over the years he has become a well-respected member of the Huddersfield community, and a prominent business figure.
His wife Alda, who worked as nursing sister at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary for most of her career, is also well known in the community, and in 2011 received the ultimate accolade from the country of her birth, being given the Jamaican Diaspora Award for Excellence – the equivalent of an OBE.
The couple, from Fartown , have two daughters and a son, and three grandchildren.
The awards became established after a small group of concerned black professionals, headed by community development worker and event organiser Dominic Pinnock, investigated the overwhelming amount of evidence highlighting that African and Caribbean young people across the UK generally tend not to achieve as well as other groups in education and employment.
The awards took place at the Cedar Court Hotel at Ainley Top, and as well as the Lifetime Achievement award, accolades were given in 11 other categories.
The HBC Arts Award and the Community Organisation Award were both won by the Huddersfield African Caribbean Cultural Trust, whose volunteers have helped Huddersfield Carnival become one of the largest festivals in the Kirklees calendar.
The Education Award was won by New Directions College, which offers education and training for young people experiencing difficulties in mainstream settings.
And the winner of the HBC Community Award was Peter Rowe, managing director and child protection officer at New Directions College.
The Young Black Business Award went to Leanne Joseph, of Pink Petals, whose floral business has quickly bloomed throughout West Yorkshire.
The Youth/Young Adult award was won by Aaliyah Powell, the British champion, who represented Great Britain at the world taekwondo Cadet Championships in South Korea in August.
The Sports Award was won by Joy Cummings-Douglas, who works as a community sports officer with Kirklees Young People Services, teaches sports in schools and colleges, runs a girls only youth club on Saturdays in Batley, and coaches community netball clubs.
The award for Change Maker went to Howard Belafonte, who has been involved in community work and organising events, dances and activities throughout Huddersfield and West Yorkshire for well over 30 years.
The Black Business Award went to Mackinley’s, a leading food store which specialises in African and Caribbean groceries and supplies around the UK.
Technics Worldbeat won the Best Sounds System Award, and the Best DJ award went to Original Major.
