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Community Champion Rewarded

Giorgio Federico Bugnatelli, a business analyst in finance, has been awarded an honorary British Empire Medal (B.E.M.) in the honorary British awards for charitable services to Hylands Community Amateur Sports Club.

Giorgio’s work included:

  • Developing tennis in Hylands Park since 1990 and setting up a Community Amateur Sports Club in 2002 on a not for profit basis.
  • Merging the club with a local Academy (formerly a Secondary School) in 2013.
  • Instrumental role in raising near to £400,000 for the new facilities and over £90,000 of donations in kind.
  • Facilities include six tennis courts and two multi use games areas all floodlit.
  • Developing an all embracing sport development programme for all ages and abilities with a focus on tennis.
  • Empowering young people by setting up and running a communication and organisation accredited course and providing invaluable volunteering experience.
  • Setting up a Satellite club for girls only bridging the gap between club, schools and the local community.
  • Creating a lasting legacy through the furtherance of sport and protecting the common good.

On his reward Giorgio said:

“Being recognised for my efforts in the community outside my substantive professional career is a great honour. As a first-generation immigrant, it has always been important to me to contribute to my local community. I was clear at the outset that I wanted to set up a tennis club where young people could not only learn and play but also have the opportunity of developing as confident and balanced individuals. A place to play where we could create a community and not just money. I am delighted that 26 years later, we have a fully accredited multi-sport community hub specialising in tennis and which is democratically managed by stakeholders without the need for managers and leaders. In short, no bosses, no profits for shareholders and no-nonsense and this concept seems to work well for us.”

The British Empire Medal:

The British Empire Medal was reinstated in 2012 to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and it recognises those who have contributed in a major way to their local community either through their voluntary work or job. Recipients are entitled to use the letters ‘B.E.M.’ after their name.