MAUREEN LEWIS NAMED AS “LIFETIME ACHIEVER” AT

MBCC AWARDS 2021

Maureen Lewis has been crowned the Lifetime Achievement recipient at this year’s Multicultural Business & Community Champion (MBCC) Awards. Recognised for outstanding service to the voluntary sector and the community, Maureen has worked in the sector for over 20 years in Walsall.  There are not many people who do not know her or are connected through the work she has done. The CEO of Walsall Black Sisters Collective a local charity that has been provided services to the wider community for over 35 years.  Maureen Lewis took home the award at this weekend’s glitzy star-studded event.

“I am so thrilled to be awarded the MBCC Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021. I am honoured and humbled to even be nominated. This means so much to me, so thank you all who have supported me over the years and for even taking the time to vote.”

Taking place at Birmingham’s Eastside Rooms on 6 November, over 700 guests came together for the MBCC Awards to celebrate the unsung heroes who have gone above and beyond in corporate business and their local communities.

With a record-number of guests, 20 honourees, and live performances, this year’s MBCC Awards event proved to be a winner for all. As well as the award-winners, the event, hosted by famous faces Alex Beresford and Leah Charles-King, also saw industry legends take to the stage to entertain. From singers Lemar and Lurine Cato MBE; to Aston Performing Arts Academy: guests were treated to jaw-dropping acts throughout the night.

What’s more, in the spirit of the event, the MBCC Awards also collaborated with two charity partners: the Equality Council UK and First-Class Foundation. Chosen for their tireless commitment to the community and their shared mission of helping people to succeed together, both are passionate about increasing opportunities for marginalised groups, in particular people of colour. With this year’s event theme of ‘Anti-Racism’, the MBCC Awards was proud to raise vital funds and awareness for the causes, shining a light on how much more needs to be done.

Tru Powell, the organiser of this year’s MBCC Awards, was hugely proud of the event’s success. He commented:

It was a dream come true to bring back the MBCC Awards for 2021 and I cannot thank everyone who was part of it – from our hosts, judges, and ambassadors; through to our winners and guests – enough for making it the success it was. The stories of our winners are incredibly humbling and their tireless work to improving the world we all live in is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

“It is truly an honour to be able to pay tribute to their commitment and achievements through the MBCC Awards and give these heroes the recognition they so truly deserve. To have over 700 people in one place, celebrating these sensational people together, was incredible and I want to say a final ‘well done’ from all of us at the MBCC Awards to our winners.

The full list of categories and winners was:

  • Charity of the Year – Digbeth Dining Club
  • Community Unsung Hero of the Year – CJ Lloyd Webley
  • Community Unsung She-ro of the Year – Liz Pemberton
  • Entrepreneur of the Year – Oyinkansola Adebayo, Niya Enterprise
  • Frontline Worker of the Year – Neelam Dhansey
  • Lifetime Achievement Award – Maureen Lewis
  • Lockdown Hero of the Year – Claire Goodwin-Fee (Highly Commended: DJ Silk)
  • Mentor of the Year – Beth Mabey
  • Most Influential Business Person of the Year – Rosie Ginday, Miss Macaroon
  • Most Inspirational Person of the Year – Kieran Quinlan
  • Networker of the Year – Michelle Raymond
  • Outstanding Business of the Year – Free Train
  • Role Model of the Year – Casey Bailey (Highly Commended: Alexandra Wilson)
  • Social Activist of the Year – Kelechi Okafor
  • Inspirational Honorary Award – Ashley Cain and Safiyya Vorajee
  • Lifetime Achievement Honorary – Kanya King CBE
  • Special Recognition Award – Hon. Stuart Lawrence

To learn more about the awards, head over to: https://mbccawards.com/

The categories and nominees for the MBCC awards are:

Charity of the Year

ACT CIC
Art4Charity
Birmingham Says No
Blessed 2 Bless
Digbeth Dining Club CIC
Mums United

Community Unsung Hero of the Year

CJ Lloyd Webley
Duncan Casburn
Ezra Taylor
Matt Denning
Michael Willis
Mike Farley

Community Unsung She-ro of the Year

Cllr Sharon Thompson
Juliet Coley
Liz Pemberton
Sarah Ventre
Sharon Goodridge
Vandana Khurana

Entrepreneur of the Year

Chef Mellow Beezy – Mellow’s Catering
Jashaan Gill – Jheez
Kameese Davis – Nylah’s Naturals
Oyinkansola Adebayo – Niyo Enterprise
Sarah Walters – Optimum Youth Care
Shamil Mae – Maevela

Frontline Worker of the Year

Beverley Hardman
Darnish Amraz
Dr. Toluwa Adepeju
Nathan Aycee
Neelam Dhansey
Shannon Louise Hebberts

Lifetime Achievement

Chef Akila
Gail Parmel
Jacqui Daniels
Maureen Lewis
Mukthar Dar

Lockdown Hero of the Year

Claire Goodwin-Fee
Claire Yates Wilson
Continental GT
DJ Silk
Jemma Yoloye
Ranjit Singh

Mentor of the Year

Beth Mabey
Daniella Genas
Dwayne Johnson
Leah Sian Bayle
Marlon Walters
Solomon Griffiths

Most Influential Business Person of the Year

Chantel Hall-Reid – Sister2Sister
Chris Tipping – The Digital Marketing Laboratory
Denise Myers – Evenfields Careers
Rosie Ginday – Miss Macaroon
Tim Andrews – Hollywood Monster
Waheed ‘Aesthetic’ Mohammed – Aesthetic Health and Fitness Club

Most Inspirational Person of the Year

Anthony Olaseinde
Chezza
Kieran Quinlan
Maisha Sumah
Professor Kehinde Andrews
Sayce Holmes-Lewis

Networker of the Year

Belinda Kaur – BK Network
Haider Mustafa – BizzCoin
Liz Baitson – Preneur Capital Commercial Finance
Michelle Raymond – The People’s Partner
Ryan Doyle – Park Regis
Zonia Anderson-Bell – InteleTravel

Outstanding Business of the Year

Asian Business Chamber of Commerce
Bluesky Business Consultancy
Car Buying Guru
Free Train
OnTheBreadLine
Primal Mastery

Role Model of the Year

Alexandra Wilson
Casey Bailey
Danielle Harvey
Debbie-Louise Bates
Emmanuel Awoyelu
Louize Beatrice Jackson

Social Activist of the Year

Amahra Spence
Kelechi Okafor
Nzinga Orgill
Oloni Baby
Shani Dhanda
Sophie Marie Bennett

The 2021 awards will see the addition of three new categories which are the first of their kind at an event such as MBCC’s. These new categories include: Frontline Worker of the Year; Lockdown Hero; and Social Activist of the Year.

To find out more information about the awards, visit: https://mbccawards.com/