The Suffolk Agricultural Association's annual Agricultural Awards Dinner, which took place in 20 October last year, was a celebration of the achievements in the sector. Awards were presented for the best small, medium and large farms, best conservation in each class and the schools show garden competitions, all of which were lovely to witness, however we had one category that we were most invested in; The Suffolk New College’s Apprentice of the Year, which was awarded to our apprentice, Leon.
We were delighted to hear the news that Leon had won this fantastic accolade! Leon has worked incredibly hard, both at College and on site and it’s great to see this achievement recognised. We were all very excited when the announcer read out John’s report of Leon’s progress to date and to see him accept the award in front of lots of successful peers in the industry. John's report had highlighted Leon's customer service skills, including his eagerness to go the extra mile along with his ability to take all the knowledge and experience he has gained so far and use that to proactively diagnose machinery faults.
It made a pleasant change from wearing our working gear to get togged up to attend the ceremony at Trinity Park and it was great too to meet old and new friends and help celebrate the various achievements with everyone. It was also lovely to see the thorough report that featured in the East Anglian Daily Times the following week, with our winner smiling in the photograph pictured, alongside other award winners. Leon is fifth from the right, and stood next to Sophia Sparks, the runner up for the award.
Hopefully this prestigious award is the sign of many successes that lay ahead for Leon and his agricultural career. We certainly think he’s deserving of the praise, and are very pleased that the SAA and Suffolk New College feature this award in recognition of the importance of the role apprentices play in the preservation of the skills required to keep the wheels of the agricultural world turning well into the future of farming.