How many times have you thought...
‘That person should be rewarded for that’?
They might have performed a selfless act, achieved recognition in a particular area or just helped out a neighbour. You just sometimes wish that an unsung hero could be recognised for their achievements. Well that’s what the ‘Citizen of the City’ is all about. This award scheme gives you the chance to nominate someone who lives, works and contributes to the community in the Southend Borough who you think should receive the ‘Southend on Sea Citizen of the City’ Award.
We consider all nominations, so even if it was a friendly knock on the door to ask if you need any groceries, we’ll consider it.
Nomination Close Date is: Monday 29th June 2026
The nominator
Must...
Be a member of the public with a good knowledge of the individual’s work (such as a beneficiary or long-term supporter).
Must...
Be able to provide a detailed reasoning as to why they are nominated, along with support of their work to back this up.
Must not...
Be the person they are nominating, or be in charge of any organisations/charities involved with the nominee.
Nomination Form
Bravery
Be able to provide a detailed reasoning as to why they are nominated, along with support of their work to back this up.
Achievement
Do you know someone who has excelled in a certain field of excellence. A major qualification that helps the community perhaps?
Kindness
Kindness comes in lots of various guises. From getting the shopping for an elderly neighbour to donating a vital organ.
What prizes could they win?
Gold
As well as the prestigious title, winner of the ‘Gold’ award will be presented with a personalised trophy and a £500 Cash prize and the winner will also receive £500 for their organisation or their chosen charity.
Bronze
The ‘Bronze’ winner will receive a trophy and £100 and £100 for their organisation or charity.
Silver
Winner of the ‘Silver’ award will also receive a trophy and a £250 cash prize plus £250 for their organisation or charity.
The Sir Teddy Taylor Award
In honour of our good friend and one of the founder members of Citizen of Southend, we award a special award ‘’The Sir Teddy Taylor Award’’. The winner will receive a trophy, £500 for them and £500 for their organisation or charity.
The Hero 'Bravery' Award
The Hero Award is given to someone who has shown outstanding bravery and helped others. The winner will receive a trophy, £500 for them and £500 for their organisation or charity.
The Juging Panel
Philip Miller MBE
Philip Miller is one of Essex’s best-known entrepreneurs. Born and raised in Southend, he has spent a lifetime building successful local businesses, creating jobs and supporting good in Southend. Philip cut his teeth in the old Kursaal amusement park, starting work at just ten years old. “My dad would say, ‘You’re not going to school today, you’re coming to work!’” That early experience taught him the value of hard graft, teamwork and responsibility. He went on to build some of Essex’s most recognisable names in leisure, hospitality, property and media. His group of companies has created thousands of jobs and helped to bring investment, life and pride back into the Essex coast. In 2026, his flagship business Adventure Island will celebrate its Golden 50th Anniversary, marking half a century of success on Southend seafront and its role as one of the county’s most popular attractions. In recognition of his contribution to business and the community, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2003. His company has also received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Social Mobility, recognising its work in helping young people gain experience, training and employment. Philip is proud of Southend and believes in giving something back. He is a founder member of the Southend Hospital Charitable Foundation, which has raised millions of pounds for new equipment, benefiting thousands of patients across the region.
James Miller
James is the Operations Director of the Stockvale Group, and has learnt business from the ground-up after 25 years working for the company. As part of his role, James Chairs the Stockvale Volunteering Committee, whose mission it is to help as many people in the community as possible. The committee has led beach cleans; taken part in ‘Sleep Outs’ to raise money for HARP and the YMCA; and provided volunteers across the town from the Stockvale team. James also leads the Stockvale Fundraising Partnership, which brings together charities and schools who are then able to raise significant funds for all their different fundraising goals. James, together with the Stockvale team, helped win the Queen’s Award for ‘Promoting Opportunity through Social Mobility’, which is widely known as a knighthood for businesses. Stockvale were the first in the industry to win such a coveted award and won because of the transformational leadership programme that has enabled over 1000 young people to have been promoted within the company.
Mick Thwaites
Mich Thwaites has lived in Southend for over 30 years. Mich has spent most of his life as a Police Officer and the majority of that has been with Essex Police. From 2000 to 2005 Mick was the Divisional Commander of Southend and during that time he was the Chair of the Crime and Disorder Group and Vice Chair of the Local Strategic Partnership. This brought him into contact with many outside partners and voluntary groups as well as the numerous diverse communities within the Southend Borough. His last role was as head of operations of Essex and within that role for the last 3 years he has been heading the Olympic Project for Essex Police until he retired at the beginning of 2009. Mick is a firm believer that Southend has a very caring community and that the Citizen of Southend Award plays an important part in recognising the wonderful work that goes on across the Borough.
Sarah McDowall
Deacon Sarah McDowall is a Methodist Minister. She has ministered in different parts of the UK before being stationed in the Southend & Leigh Methodist Circuit just over four years ago. Her City centre role includes serving as chaplain to the staff at Adventure Island, Victoria Shopping Centre, Minister of Trinity Methodist Church and Trinity Family Centre in Westcliff. When Sarah gets time off she loves music, theatre and spending time with family.
Elise Fleetwood
With almost 20 years of experience working in/with the charitable sector and a deep passion for helping others, Elise has dedicated her career to organising charitable events, managing a wide range of donor relations and mobilizing volunteers to make meaningful impact and create positive change, particularly withing the NHS. Elise has had the privilege of working alongside an uncountable number of inspiring individuals—changemakers, survivors, and advocates—whose stories fuel passion for giving back. These experiences have not only enriched Elise’s understanding of compassion and resilience but have also helped cultivate a strong network within our local community. Elise brings new energy, empathy, and attention to detail to the panel and is honoured to take up this position.
Melissa Aylott
Melissa is a Manager at Adventure Island, looking after a number of areas, one being the volunteering Team. This role gave the opportunity to work with a number of organisations across the city and see the amazing work they do, including Southend Hospital, Off The Streets, HARP, CAVS, SAVS, SVP, SHAN and many more. She volunteered for Southend Hospital during the Pandemic, helping to deliver PPE equipment to wards, as well as helping those across the city that were unable to leave their home. She regularly attends and arranges Beach cleans, sleep outs and food donations to help local organisations. Melissa strongly believes in civic pride and helping others.
Anna Firth
Anna, local girl who was born in Leigh-on-Sea, is a former Barrister and Member of Parliament for Southend West & Leigh. Whilst in Parliament, Anna delivered multiple law-changes including banning nitrous oxide for recreational use, out-lawing all forms of zombie knife machetes and steering the ground-breaking Pet Abduction Act onto the statue books. She also secured millions of pounds to make Southend and Leigh a healthier and wealthier place to live including the development of a new fishery in the Thames Estuary, over £100 million into better water quality management, and a further £100 million into Southend Hospital including a new A&E. As a member of the Education Select Committee, Anna was also instrumental in getting mobile phones banned in schools to improve learning and well-being. An active member of the Leigh Lions, the Leigh Legion and the Leigh Rotary Club, Anna also enjoys supporting a whole range of Southend’s charities including HARP, Haven’s Hospice, Lady McAdden Trust, “Off the Streets”, the St Vincent’s Centre and the Southend Hospital Trust to name but a few. Currently, Anna is a television broadcaster and commentator as well as a Board Trustee of Animal Free Research UK. Anna continues to serve the community as a Governor of Westcliff High School for Girls, a Patron of the Music Man Project, three of Southend’s brilliant choirs and the Sir David Amess Children’s Parliament. Anna remains wholly committed to making Southend and Leigh the best seaside City in the Country to live, work and visit.
