Charity superwoman Kim Marquis was last night crowned the 2011 Specsavers Unsung Hero after receiving nearly a third of the 800 votes cast.
This was the third year that the public were invited to vote online as well as by post for their favourite nominee – someone who works tirelessly for the local community and the service of others. Mrs Marquis was the outright winner, with votes spread evenly among the remaining shortlisted nominees.
Mrs Marquis, 45, is involved in several charities, including The Pink Ladies, Wigwam, Guernsey Deaf Children’s Society and is also an active participant in an initiative that supports British troops on deployment in Afghanistan.
A mother of four children, including one of whom has Down’s Syndrome, she undertakes all her charity work on a volunteer basis and in the little spare time she has is learning sign language so that she can communicate more easily with the children she works with at the Deaf Society.
Debi Troth, who nominated Mrs Marquis, said: ‘Kim is remarkable, she is always keen to help others and puts everyone else first, she never has any time for herself.’
Another voter said that ‘Kim is a very special lady and so deserves this award. She is truly an unsung hero; there is so much she does that people are unaware of’.
Specsavers founder Dame Mary Perkins, said: ‘This award has become the voice of the Guernsey people and they have shouted out their chosen winner. We were so pleased to see how many votes were cast this year, as well as the number of initial nominations. It really is a lovely award to be involved with.’
