On the 8th of October, Dame Patsy held the 30th Frances Clarke Memorial Awards. The awards recognise great achievement in the Wellington Down Syndrome community, and this year the guest speaker was Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
The first winner of the morning was Ava Saba. From the Wairarapa, she is a keen dancer and has achieved level 4 highly commended in the Dance New Zealand Made Syllabus. Her favourite dance styles are jazz and hip hop. She recieves the award for the 16 and under category.
Michael Holdsworth was the winner of the 16 and over category for his work with IHC and as a pianist. He is a mentor at the IHC library, and has played piano since he was a child. Michael has been on hand to play the piano at almost every Frances Clarke Memorial Award ceremony right back to the first one 30 years ago.
Finally the winner of the community category was Gordon Cumming. Gordon was recognised for his work mentoring Kapiti group The Independance Collective. This group of young entrepreneurs with intellectual disabilities, with the guidance of Gordon, have worked together to become their own boss and start a micro business selling their own brand of beer, Change Maker.
