Some of the winners of this year’s Outstanding Young Person awards and JCI Donegal President Nikki Bradley.
FIRST on the agenda was our Junior Chamber Ireland (JCI) Donegal Outstanding Young Person (TOYP) Awards which took place in Gallagher’s Hotel, Letterkenny on Tuesday, May 5.
We had some strong contenders making it difficult for our organiser Ann-Louise to pick the winners as they could have all been successful.
The event was well attended and a fun night was had by all. Winners included Sab Medler, Jason and Garth Devenney, Mark English, Adele Smyth, Michael Murphy, Sinead Murray and Gemma Lynch.
I would like to congratulate JCI Vice President Ann-Louise McClintock on the effort she put in to organising this event.
There was a huge amount of work involved in processing each application and she managed to get everything done while running her own business ‘AL Consultancy’ at the same time!
She also presented the awards which was a first for her so congrats again Ann-Louise from everyone at JCI Donegal!
Darkness Into Light
Darkness Into Light took place at the weekend which I will discuss in detail in next week’s column, I wanted to mention it briefly now as I have been preparing for it over the past number of days. We decided to test my abilities recently with a 3k timed run, or hop in my case. Beginning at the LYIT carpark we made our way around the Neil T Blaney road, over past the community centre and back around to where we started.
It took us 27 minutes which might seem slow to a regular runner but when you do it on crutches it changes things dramatically!
For example a runner might not be aware of the slight dip in the footpath passing the community centre. I however felt that stretch was the hardest for that very reason.
My right shoulder was in ribbons the following morning! I found the ‘hop’ challenging but very rewarding and I can see why people enjoy doing marathons, the feeling of pride at the end is great!
And Finally
I received an email from the co-founder of an American movement called ‘I AM ADAPTIVE’ who are interested in coming to Ireland!
I AM ADAPTIVE is a not for profit organization founded by adaptive athletes who have set out to build a strong global community and raise awareness for the adaptive movement.
They are defining the way the world views ‘Adaptation’ and want words such as ‘Handicapped’ and ‘Disabled’ removed from socially accepted language.
I have been following their progress for a little while now and have drawn inspiration from their mindset. I would encourage you to look them up and watch some of their YouTube videos as they are amazing!
Nikki Bradley is the founder of Fighting Fit For Ewing’s, a campaign to promote awareness of Ewing’s Sarcoma. Nikki is sponsored by All Sports in Donegal Town. Support her campaign by giving ‘Fighting Fit For Ewing’s’ a LIKE on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @nikkibradley59
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