Winners of the Woman of Substance Awards

A Yorkshire woman has won a national award to find Britain's real woman of substance.

Lisa Salmon, 42, from Horsforth, Leeds, was crowned 'A Woman of Substance 2009' by bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford and Sarah, The Duchess of York, at a glittering awards ceremony hosted by HarperCollins at The Dorchester last night (10 September 2009).

Lisa was nominated by her mother, Sheila Salmon, and her friend, Gail Robinson, who described her as an extraordinary human being. Lisa has suffered real pain in her life and has had to deal with a series of tragedies -- one of which resulted in her losing her sight and the other thhe death of her son at just two days old. Since then, Lisa has managed to triumph over adversity, going on to marry and have two children, and is now juggling a busy family life with working as a writer with the support of her husband Mark. In her spare time, she rides her horse Oliver and also helps to support and campaign for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance service that saved her life.

Conducted in association with Debenhams, P&O Cruises, and in support of the charity Target Ovarian Cancer, the awards were held to mark the 30th anniversary of Barbara Taylor Bradford's debut book, A Woman of Substance.

Lisa will receive a prize package of a luxury cruise for two people and two children courtesy of P&O Cruises, a full makeover and styling session courtesy of Debenhams Westfield, a £250 Debenhams gift card, a copy of Barbara's latest book, Breaking The Rules (published 3 September 2009), a newly released, luxury bound limited edition of A Woman of Substance, plus a DVD package of Barbara Taylor Bradford films.

Barbara Taylor Bradford says: "Lisa's story is amazing. She has had to deal with not one but a series of tragedies which has caused her great physical and emotional pain, has had to find the strength to carry on and has overcome great adversity to reinvent herself and live her life to the full. She truly epitomises what it is to be a real women of substance today."

Barbara adds: "I'm particularly thrilled that out of all the entries we received, the winning one was from Yorkshire, the county where I grew up and started my writing career, and the place where my original woman of substance, Emma Harte, hailed from."

Lisa Salmon said "I was amazed I won. I don't feel like I'm that special. I've just got on with life. I do feel sometimes that I'm the luckiest unluckiest person alive. I'm over the moon to be seen as a real woman of substance. I just can't believe it."

Runners up

Felicity Davis from Driffield. Felicity survived a difficult childhood, two failed marriages, and had three children to bring up by herself. Her life was spiralling out of control and she knew she had to do something about it. So she went back to school to pick up where she left off at 15 and eventually gained a Degree in English Literature & Language from the University of Hull. She is now an assistant head teacher at a College in Scarborough, with qualifications to take her to a headship if she chooses, and is inspiring children to reach for the stars and helping them to achieve their dreams.

Heather Champion from Wadebridge in Cornwall. Heather had a difficult childhood and this spurred her on to become one of life's protectors of children. She started off working at a Barnardo's Children's Home as one of its assistant house mothers. After she got married, Heather had two daughters and decided to get involved with the Girl Guides......27 years later, she is still an active member of the organisation. Heather has given many years to Girl Guiding, hoping that she may have had an effect upon the lives of numerous other girls and young women who will be the leaders of tomorrow. She now attends the Guides with her 16 year old granddaughter.

Marjorie Hurst from St Helens in Merseyside. Marjorie was nominated by her friend Gladys Hull. Marjorie's daughter Helen tragically died from a brain tumour when she was just 12-years-old in 1984. During her illness, Marjorie and husband Arthur discovered what little help was available locally for sick children. This began a journey over 25 years ago which started with the launch of the Helen Marie Friends charity for local sick children to help them experience a better quality of life.

Wendy Morris from Liverpool. Wendy was left a single mum with three young children when her husband walked out. With no job or training, she returned to education and got her GCSEs, A Levels, and a Degree while juggling the children. In August 2008, she was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and had to have chemotherapy and major surgery. Despite being seriously ill, she continued to think about others and wrote to ITV's This Morning asking them to raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer. A week before having surgery, she appeared on the show and this resulted in over 1,000 website hits. When writing the submission for the awards, Wendy was in remission. She had already rejoined her Samba band where she played the big drum. And in June, she went back to work as a Project Manager at Young Addiction, a charity which helps under 21s who have alcohol and drug addictions. But, by the time the judging had taken place in early August, Wendy had tragically died after losing her battle with Ovarian Cancer. Wendy's mother collected a special posthumous award in honour of her amazing daughter.

Highly commended

Angela Gorman from Cardiff. Angela was nominated by her sister-in-law Bev Hampson for her campaigning work to make birth safe for mothers and babies in the Central African country of Chad. She is chair of the charity 'Hope for Grace Kodindo' and, as a result of her determination and grit in acquiring the essential drugs needed to treat pre-eclampsia and infection, the country has seen maternal mortality rates fallen from 14 per cent to 2 per cent.

Nicola Slingsby from Halifax. Nicola was nominated by her friend Enid Jackson for being a dedicated mother, looking after her three sons as a single mother-- one of whom is physically disabledd -- and overcoming great adversity to ensure her sons achieve theirr dreams.

Anna Kennedy from Middlesex. Anna was nominated by her sister, Maria Luisa, for the amazing work she does with children with autism. Anna is the mother of two boys who are both affected by autism. Living on only three hours sleep a night due to her youngest son's erratic sleep patterns, Anna helped found a charity for children and adults with autistic spectrum conditions and opened a specialist primary and secondary school for 95 children. This has been recognised as a Centre for Excellence. She has also opened up a small specialist college and residential home for adults, started an information website on autism, a dating agency, and even published her own book on autism and raising children which became an Amazon top ten bestseller!

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Yorkshire woman crowned A Woman of Substance 2009 Barbara Taylor Bradford and The Duchess of York present award A Yorkshire woman has won a national award to find Britain's real woman of substance. Lisa Salmon, 42, from Horsforth, Leeds, was crowned 'A Woman of Substance 2009' by bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford and Sarah, The Duchess of York, at a glittering awards ceremony hosted by HarperCollins at The Dorchester last night (10 September 2009). Lisa was nominated by her mother, Sheila Salmon, and her friend, Gail Robinson, who described her as an extraordinary human being. Lisa has suffered real pain in her life and has had to deal with a series of tragedies -- one of which resulted in her losing her sight and the other thhe death of her son at just two days old. Since then, Lisa has managed to triumph over adversity, going on to marry and have two children, and is now juggling a busy family life with working as a writer with the support of her husband Mark. In her spare time, she rides her horse Oliver and also helps to support and campaign for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance service that saved her life. Conducted in association with Debenhams, P&O Cruises, and in support of the charity Target Ovarian Cancer, the awards were held to mark the 30th anniversary of Barbara Taylor Bradford's debut book, A Woman of Substance. Lisa will receive a prize package of a luxury cruise for two people and two children courtesy of P&O Cruises, a full makeover and styling session courtesy of Debenhams Westfield, a £250 Debenhams gift card, a copy of Barbara's latest book, Breaking The Rules (published 3 September 2009), a newly released, luxury bound limited edition of A Woman of Substance, plus a DVD package of Barbara Taylor Bradford films. Barbara Taylor Bradford says: "Lisa's story is amazing. She has had to deal with not one but a series of tragedies which has caused her great physical and emotional pain, has had to find the strength to carry on and has overcome great adversity to reinvent herself and live her life to the full. She truly epitomises what it is to be a real women of substance today." Barbara adds: "I'm particularly thrilled that out of all the entries we received, the winning one was from Yorkshire, the county where I grew up and started my writing career, and the place where my original woman of substance, Emma Harte, hailed from." Lisa Salmon said "I was amazed I won. I don't feel like I'm that special. I've just got on with life. I do feel sometimes that I'm the luckiest unluckiest person alive. I'm over the moon to be seen as a real woman of substance. I just can't believe it." Runners up Felicity Davis from Driffield. Felicity survived a difficult childhood, two failed marriages, and had three children to bring up by herself. Her life was spiralling out of control and she knew she had to do something about it. So she went back to school to pick up where she left off at 15 and eventually gained a Degree in English Literature & Language from the University of Hull. She is now an assistant head teacher at a College in Scarborough, with qualifications to take her to a headship if she chooses, and is inspiring children to reach for the stars and helping them to achieve their dreams. Heather Champion from Wadebridge in Cornwall. Heather had a difficult childhood and this spurred her on to become one of life's protectors of children. She started off working at a Barnardo's Children's Home as one of its assistant house mothers. After she got married, Heather had two daughters and decided to get involved with the Girl Guides......27 years later, she is still an active member of the organisation. Heather has given many years to Girl Guiding, hoping that she may have had an effect upon the lives of numerous other girls and young women who will be the leaders of tomorrow. She now attends the Guides with her 16 year old granddaughter. Marjorie Hurst from St Helens in Merseyside. Marjorie was nominated by her friend Gladys Hull. Marjorie's daughter Helen tragically died from a brain tumour when she was just 12-years-old in 1984. During her illness, Marjorie and husband Arthur discovered what little help was available locally for sick children. This began a journey over 25 years ago which started with the launch of the Helen Marie Friends charity for local sick children to help them experience a better quality of life. Wendy Morris from Liverpool. Wendy was left a single mum with three young children when her husband walked out. With no job or training, she returned to education and got her GCSEs, A Levels, and a Degree while juggling the children. In August 2008, she was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and had to have chemotherapy and major surgery. Despite being seriously ill, she continued to think about others and wrote to ITV's This Morning asking them to raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer. A week before having surgery, she appeared on the show and this resulted in over 1,000 website hits. When writing the submission for the awards, Wendy was in remission. She had already rejoined her Samba band where she played the big drum. And in June, she went back to work as a Project Manager at Young Addiction, a charity which helps under 21s who have alcohol and drug addictions. But, by the time the judging had taken place in early August, Wendy had tragically died after losing her battle with Ovarian Cancer. Wendy's mother collected a special posthumous award in honour of her amazing daughter. Highly commended Angela Gorman from Cardiff. Angela was nominated by her sister-in-law Bev Hampson for her campaigning work to make birth safe for mothers and babies in the Central African country of Chad. She is chair of the charity 'Hope for Grace Kodindo' and, as a result of her determination and grit in acquiring the essential drugs needed to treat pre-eclampsia and infection, the country has seen maternal mortality rates fallen from 14 per cent to 2 per cent. Nicola Slingsby from Halifax. Nicola was nominated by her friend Enid Jackson for being a dedicated mother, looking after her three sons as a single mother-- one of whom is physically disabledd -- and overcoming great adversity to ensure her sons achieve theirr dreams. Anna Kennedy from Middlesex. Anna was nominated by her sister, Maria Luisa, for the amazing work she does with children with autism. Anna is the mother of two boys who are both affected by autism. Living on only three hours sleep a night due to her youngest son's erratic sleep patterns, Anna helped found a charity for children and adults with autistic spectrum conditions and opened a specialist primary and secondary school for 95 children. This has been recognised as a Centre for Excellence. She has also opened up a small specialist college and residential home for adults, started an information website on autism, a dating agency, and even published her own book on autism and raising children which became an Amazon top ten bestseller!