Volunteer of the Year 2010 WINNER!

Congratulations to our new Volunteer of the Year! James Street, Plymouth Area Chairman, received the prestigious Lord Turnbull Award for his commitment to revitalising his local AA.

James received the Lord Turnbull Award from Sir David Bell as recognition for his selection as CSSC's Volunteer of the Year for 2010.

In 2010 James was elected Chairman of Plymouth Area Association. Prior to this he had been a committee member, experiencing continual frustration with a tired and traditional committee unable and unwilling to move forward after the ground closure. Strongly believing he could improve things for the 2000+ members in the Plymouth Area Association if he were to become Chairman he put himself forward, thus marking a significant step forward in the continuing history of Plymouth AA.

Not content with taking on the chairman's role, James wasn't frightened to get his hands dirty. He personally put in many hours researching new offers for CSSC members and supporting the local committee. As a result, Plymouth AA was able to offer members a huge range of new discounts.

James's drive and commitment has in a short space of time repositioned the image of Plymouth AA. No longer perceived as tired and traditional the AA now enjoys an ever growing profile amongst its catchment with more members realising the benefits of being involved.
James is a born leader and he is a very inspirational character. The committee that was elected in 2010 consisted of colleagues and current committee members, all of whom respect him and are willing to work alongside him.

James has also spent many an hour ensuring that the offers available are notified to as many members as possible. He ensures that the offers are communicated via email to members within the Area, and he has also worked hard to build up a base of office contacts he sends the information to. James has enabled members to gain more benefit from their CSSC membership, and an example of the different offers which they now have access to are: Theatre ticket rebate, support for members who took part in the Barbados Challenge, cricket trips (spectators), football trips (spectators), Disney trip, Lakeside trip, trip to Cheltenham races, monthly email draw for members, Bovey Castle spa weekend, discounted Plymouth Argyle tickets, Plymouth Raiders tickets, Plymouth Albion Rugby tickets and discounted cinema tickets, fantastic local gym, leisure and golf deals. James has also encouraged local sports clubs to open their doors to a wider range of members. This has meant that the local sailing club is holding a family open day for CSSC members to sample what is on offer. Other clubs are set to follow suit throughout 2011 thanks to James' perseverance. The winner of the third Members' Draw was based in Plymouth Area and James, alongside Samantha Hart, worked to set up meetings for them to surprise him and present him with his prize.

Quite simply, without James, Plymouth Area Association would not be the dynamic Association that it currently is, offering a range of discounts for members, due to the amount of hard work and effort that he has put into Plymouth Area. He has led his committee and supported them all to ensure that they work as a unit to provide discounts for members in all departments at CSSC. The sheer number of CSSC members that have benefitted from James' leadership through the increased activity programme, offers and fair and open funding policies is testament to the work he has done.