Published February 16, 2017 at 15:49
Members of VIC were given five star treatment at the House of Lords as finalists in the national Soldiering On Awards.
The champagne reception, in a marquee on the embankment of the River Thames, was an opportunity to share the work of VIC with the five other finalists in the category Working Together and to meet some of the judges.
On March 24, they will again return to London to the Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge Hotel, when the winners will be announced in a ceremony hosted by former news reader Angela Rippon.
Operations Manager Bob Elliott and Chief Executive Liz Hamilton attended the reception. Bob said:
“We are now in our fifth year and it was a great honour for VIC to be named as a finalist for such a prestigious national award. We would not have got to be a finalist without all the
effort that all our members have put in over the last five years. It is a team award and recognition should go to everyone who has had a part to play in VIC being such a
success; there are too many names to mention. As well as meeting the other finalists, finding out what they did and explaining the work of VIC, we also got to speak with British
Forces Broadcasting Service. Last year’s winner was an organisation that helped veterans
retrain as teachers. They said that before they won the award they had funding for 10 veterans a year, since winning they now had funding for 100 veterans – a 10-fold increase.”
VIC has been operational since 2012 and moved into its own building in Haslingden in
November 2013. Starting with just one paid employee, VIC now has a board of seven trustees, a management board and six employees.
The other finalists in the Working Together category are: Army Training Regiment Winchester; Brunei Stables Pony/Saddle Club; Forces Friends Project; The Invicta
Foundation and Veterans Information Network Nottinghamshire.
The Soldiering On awards provide national recognition for the outstanding achievements of those who have served their country and individuals and groups who work together with the Armed Forces Community.