There was laughter, smiles and even a few tears this week as Bray Chamber hosted the 2022 Endeavour awards in the Mermaid theatre. The awards, which have been presented since 1981, were a night to showcase all that is good about Bray, by awarding business and celebrating community endeavour. Rewarding those people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make the town of Bray the vibrant and wonderful community that it is.
This year was no exception with local Bray Doctor David Menzies named as the overall person of the year. Dr Menzies is a founding member of Bray Cardiac First responders and a founding member and volunteer with Wicklow Rapid Response. He is also a founder, former Chair and currently Trustee, Board Member and Medical Director of CFR Ireland, a national registered charity for Community First Responders.
The lifetime achievement title was awarded to Philip Byrne for his over 40 years of service with the Civil Defence as well as multiple other community groups he is involved with.
Bray South Family Resource Centre were presented with the community award and the Bray Seafront Lifeguards who received the Civic Award.
Other winners on the night included, Oliver Mahony (Special Recognition), Born in Bray (Social Media Award), Aoife Mohan (Young Achiever in Sports), Claire Cruz, Rachael Duffy, Kellie Magee (Young Achievers in Arts), Anna Cloney (Young Achiever in Academics) & Andrew O’Reilly (Sports Achievement).
A number of business awards, which are voted by the public were also announced on the night with Barks’n’Bubbles the big winner of the Customer Choice Business of the Year and their employee Brian Maxwell picking up the hotly contested Customer Service Award. Other winners were Killruddery (Local Experience) and Metec (Local Business of the Year).
Speaking at the ceremony Bray Chamber President Sarah Finnegan said “It is a privilege to be able to host the Endeavours in person again this year. These awards really are a showcase of the best of Bray and highlight the fantastic business we have in the town and also the amazing people who make it the great place it is.
After receiving the title of person of the year, Dr David Menzies said “It’s an honour to receive the person of the year and I would like to thank the people of Bray who nominated me.”