by Sam Hawcroft
A Hedon florist who helped save Thorngumbald Young Farmers’ Club from closure has been shortlisted for a national award.
Katie Acey, who runs Floral Curiosity in Hedon, is one of five finalists for the Heart of YFC Award at the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs’ Achiever Awards.
The result will be decided equally by judges and a public vote, which closes on Sunday, September 13. Katie will attend the awards ceremony at Birmingham’s NEC on Saturday, December 12.
She is among 40 finalists chosen from more than 260 nominations across England and Wales and has been recognised for her work supporting young people’s wellbeing and charitable fundraising.
Katie, 29, has devoted 18 years to Young Farmers, joining Thorngumbald YFC at the age of 10 and twice being named its Junior Member of the Year.
She later held a series of leadership positions and was chair for five years after stepping forward when the club was at risk of folding in about 2019.
Katie said: “We had a meeting where it was like, ‘Right, it’s closing. This is it.’ I said, ‘Come on, we can’t let it close.’
“There were a few of us involved and we had some really good parents who helped.
“I took over for five years and, for the past three years, we have been training other members to take on those leadership roles.”
Thorngumbald YFC has since grown to become the largest club in the East Riding and this year achieved its first local rally victory in almost 20 years.
Katie has now aged out as a competing member but continues as one of the club’s vice-presidents. She is also vice-chair of East Riding Young Farmers and is involved at Northern Area level.
Her mental health work included travelling to Budapest, Hungary, with National YFC in 2023 to study rural health and the wellbeing of young people.
She has also organised events supporting charities including Yorkshire Air Ambulance, the RSPCA, Dogs Trust and Ruben’s Voice, a Hedon-based mental health organisation of which she became a trustee.
National YFC said Katie had created a safe, welcoming and supportive environment that had inspired countless members.
Katie said: “It’s a privilege just to have been nominated. The award has really blown up!”
Her links with Thorngumbald YFC stretch back through several generations. Her great-aunt, Joan Hook, became the club’s first female member in 1953, while her mother, Alison Hook, joined in 1979 after growing up on a chicken farm in Preston.
Katie’s father, Martin Acey, is also a local farmer – and her parents met through Thorngumbald YFC and married while they were still members.
Unable to afford a conventional honeymoon, they instead joined the club on an exchange trip to the Isle of Wight – making Young Farmers part of their wedding story as well as Katie’s.
Katie said: “We have a really long history with the club. My brothers and cousins are pig farmers, my uncle is a pig farmer and my dad farms at Sunk Island, so we are all involved in farming in some way.”
She has also achieved success in Young Farmers’ floral art competitions and will travel to Malvern, Worcestershire, for the national finals at the end of September – the eighth time she has qualified.
Fellow East Riding member Toby Gee, of Muston YFC, has been shortlisted for the Aspiring Rural Leader Award. He has been recognised for his leadership and mentoring, particularly his support for younger members and people with additional needs.