Organiser of popular Banbury Christmas tractor run receives award from High Sheriff of Oxfordshire

Jennie Steenkamp, manager at agricultural contractors RC Baker, was presented with the award at a ceremony on Monday (March 11) at the County Hall in Oxford.

Based out of Barford St Michael, Jennie and the team at RC Baker have raised nearly £150,000 for the Katharine House Hospice by organising the tractor run over the past eight years.

Jennie was nominated for the award by staff at the hospice as a way of saying thank you for her outstanding contributions to the hospice and community.

The tractor run has grown from having 26 tractors passing through Adderbury and nearby villages on 2016 to featuring 100 tractors and a host of villages and Banbury.

Jennie said: “I could never have dreamed that the event would become so huge, so popular, so incredibly well loved and raise such enormous amounts of money. I am so incredibly proud of what we have all achieved with it.

“There is so much potential, and it’s really exciting to think how we can build on it even more! It’s just getting bigger and bigger! It’s fantastic to raise money for the wonderful Katharine House, a cause so close to our family’s heart.”

Katharine House Hospice community and events manager Roseann Thompson said: “The Tractor Run simply would not exist without Jennie and the incredible amount of work she pours into it.

"Her amazing support has raised over £140,000 for Katharine House in eight years, and she has created something wonderful for the whole community to be a part of and celebrate.”