NEXT Tuesday, 17 November, local man George Snodey will be honoured with a Community Hero Award.
The award, an initiative of My Sapphire CommUnity, is in recognition of George’s selfless dedication and extraordinary courage in fighting crime along the Sapphire Coast for more than 30 years.
“The Cambridge English dictionary defines a hero as ‘a person who is admired for having done something very brave’,” said Glynis Rathbone, spokesman for My Sapphire CommUnity.
“George has proved to be a hero many times over, putting his own life at risk while fighting crime and keeping our community safe. This has been on a completely voluntary basis, done in his own time and at his own cost, over the last 20 years.
‘a person who is admired for having done something very brave’
During his time supporting the Community Crime Prevention Organisation (CCPO), George has made many arrests. He has been threatened and sustained stab injuries while chasing housebreakers. He had a loaded firearm pointed in his face from a metre away when he went to the rescue of two policemen who had been disarmed by a criminal. He was shot at numerous times while going to assist a woman who was being hijacked and has been hit and hurled off the bonnet of a speeding car driven by a suspect escaping arrest.
Read: Outpouring of support for injured crimefighter
In addition to these selfless acts of bravery, he has spent countless hours patrolling our streets, completing paperwork that the arrests of suspects requires, and appeared in court. Last year alone, the self-employed small business owner spent nine days in court at his own cost. In the last 20 years George has been involved in more than 100 incidents where arrests have been made.
The presentation of the award, and the proceeds of a fundraising drive to assist George while he recovers from an almost fatal motor vehicle accident seven weeks ago, will be a small token of gratitude and appreciation to one of our community’s most remarkable people,” said Glynis.
Everyone, young and old, is invited to attend the Community Hero Award ceremony to be held in George’s honour. This will take place at 6pm at Amanzimtoti Sports Centre (ASC) at Hutchison Park.
ASC will sponsor the informal event by providing the venue, and Lords and Legends will provide light snacks, with a cash bar available. To assist with catering those wishing to attend the ceremony are asked to RSVP to mysapphirecommunity@gmail.com.
Donations for George can be deposited in the following account:
Bank and branch: Standard Bank Amanzimtoti;
account name George Snodey Savings Club;
account number 033-977-925; branch code 057-527.
Reference should be the donor’s name and surname, or company name, or one can choose to be anonymous.
Read about George’s crash here
