The New Member of the Year Award, sponsored by Eternit, is to celebrate the people who joined YFC in 2022-23 for the first time and have already made their mark on the club or county.
Three judges chose our five finalists for this year's award and we will find out at the Awards ceremony on 3 November 2023 who is the winner.
Lincolnshire
Nothing is too much trouble for George. He's helped organise big club events – such as Spalding YFC’s Christmas tractor run – and brought new members into the club. He gets on well with everyone involved in the club and he's already been elected to be a representative of the Lincolnshire Youth Forum. George is described as the ‘perfect example’ of a Young Farmer and his club believe he’ll go a long way in the organisation and in his future career.
Norfolk
Jago joined Diss YFC after moving from Oxfordshire and the club said he settled in immediately, even though he had never been part of a YFC before. Jago has thrown himself into his club and county – making connections with other clubs, taken on a committee role and organising interesting club meetings all in his first year. He's also come up with ideas for attracting new members who may not be from a farming background to help with the future development of the club.
Gwent
Jessie was eager to join Wentwood YFC and has already achieved a lot with her club. She gets involved in as many competitions as possible to enable the club to enter full teams and always helps out behind the scenes when she can. Jessie is the youngest member of the club but hasn’t let that stop her from making an impact. She’s described by her club as a team player who has been committed to ensuring the success of the club. She scored extra marks for cooking tea during a business meeting!
Glamorgan
Since joining Wick YFC in Glamorgan, Philippa has become a big part of the club. She is credited for her social skills and ability to bring people of all ages and backgrounds together. She has organised fundraisers, entered competitions and encouraged others to get involved too. Her favourite part of YFC so far has been performing on stage in the Entertainments. Philippa has become a strong member of her club, winning awards and showing that it’s never too late to be part of YFC.
Cornwall
Toby's enthusiasm to get stuck in and help out where he can is to be applauded. He's a big helper in his own club St Columb YFC and at a county level, where he’ll roll his sleeves up for any given task. He’s organised club meetings, ensured equipment is ready and helped at larger county events too. His involvement has seen him grow in confidence and his can-do attitude is enthusing others in the club too.
The 2022 winner of the New Member of the Year Award was Dave Odell from Warwickshire FYFC.