Three Armed Forces veterans from West Lothian are in the running for five different awards at a glittering ceremony.
Nominations have been announced for the third annual Scottish Veterans Awards and the winners will be announced at the black tie awards ceremony on April 19.
And three are three worthy veterans from West Lothian in the running.
George Ross junior, from Livingston, is a finalist in both the Volunteer of the Year and Community category.
George works in procurement for the Scottish Government but in his spare time he volunteers with Who Dares Cares as a trustee, fundraiser and events organizer. He also leads the Livingston North group of the Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club.
He enlisted into the Armed Forces in May 1995 and served with The King’s Own Scottish Borderers 1995 – 2002 then transferred to The AGC(SPS). George left the Army in September 2017 completing 22 years and 5 months service
George said: I’m absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity to celebrate my hard work within the military charitable sector with likeminded veterans at the Scottish Veterans Awards 2023.”
Brendan Forbes, from Linlithgow, is also a finalist in two categories; Role Model of the Year for his personal work in supporting people with neuro-diversity and his business, Forbes and Son Property Maintenance, is also nominated for Veteran Owned Business of the Year.
Brendan served in the Forces for 12 years.
He first joined the 2nd Battalion the Light Infantry in 1994, serving in Belfast Bosnia and Germany. He then left the Army in 1999 and started an apprenticeship in Carpentry and joinery.
He then re-joined the Army due to the financial crisis in 2007/8.
Brendan, who started his business at the start of the covid lockdown and was also diagnosed with ADHD, said: “I’m very honoured that I have been shortlisted. This gives me a chance to tell my story to other Jnr/Snr ranks of how I have taken the best from the Army, spun it around to fit and adapt my new civilian life, bringing employees and colleagues on a journey that we all gain knowledge and understanding from.”
The third Veteran up for an award is Mark Crawford, from Livingston, who has been nominated for the Reservist of the Year award.
Mark has been an Army Reservist for 26 years having served on numerous operations and oversees exercises during that time. He is currently serving as a Captain in the Artillery Army Reserves but has served with other units previously.
He is also a paramedic team leader with the Scottish Ambulance Service, based out of Livingston.
Mark has to balance his time carefully between these demanding roles. But in addition, he actively supports and mentors other Reservists within the Scottish Ambulance Service in West Lothian to ensure they can fulfil their full potential in both roles.
The Veterans Awards are a Not-for-Profit Organisation that promotes the positives from our Military Community and those organisations that support us. It’s been put together by Veterans for Veterans and our Military Community in what has become our home nations national awards with three separate award ceremonies taking place in England, Scotland and Wales and we also support the Northern Irish Awards. Any money above and beyond costs is then distributed via a small grants scheme to smaller CIC’s and Charities who work at grass roots level within the Military community and have a turnover of under 100k per annum!
The Veterans Awards serve to recognise the fantastic achievements of Armed Forces Veterans in life after service, The Scottish Veterans Awards are sponsored by Joint Force Alba Ltd a West Lothian based organisation.
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