Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year 2022

The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) has announced the top three Scottish Sheds, shortlisted by the its Board of Trustees, for its annual Scottish Men's Shed of the Year competition that recognises and rewards the contribution and life-changing impact that these vital volunteers across Scotland are making to their own lives and in their communities.

The 2022 finalists are Inverurie & District Men’s Shed, Lanark Men’s Shed and Men’s Shed Govan. You can read about them and vote for them here but here are some thoughts from the shortlistees:

Alex Smith, Chairman of Inverurie & District Men’s Shed, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be in the top three! It is a great accomplishment achieved by the hard work of our Shedders. Fingers crossed now for the big one.”

Sarah Everett from Men’s Shed Govan said: “We are over the moon to be a finalist for this year’s SMSA ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ awards. We have come so far in the last four years and are delighted with our progress. It’s been great to see the camaraderie amongst our members build month on month.”

Alan Ross, Chairman of Lanark Men’s Shed, said: “We have just celebrated our first year and are overwhelmed with this fabulous news. As far as we are concerned, we are winners already. This is a big win for every single one of our members.”

Jason Schroeder, SMSA’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The awards are a chance to showcase the real difference that Sheds are making in their localities to improve the health and wellbeing of men over the age of 18. We are absolutely delighted for our three finalists.  We received an excellent response to this year’s awards in their fourth year, the highest number of entries received to date. The standard of applications has been exceptional and it was a difficult decision for the SMSA Trustees to choose their top three.

“The process is done through ‘blind judging’ and all references to names, areas, regions, partners, etc are removed prior to the Trustees having sight of them. This enables our board members to review the applications based on the Men’s Shed model, their growth, their response to members’ needs and the impact they have in their communities without knowing who the application was from.”

The awards event will take place virtually on Zoom again this year and will coincide with the Association’s Annual General Meeting on 18 November 2022, 10am to 1pm. The winner will receive the esteemed targe trophy to display at their Shed for a year on top of a cash prize from the SMSA (paid back from SMSA Shed membership fees) and goodies from sponsors and partner organisations including vouchers from the Scotmid Co-operative; shortbread hampers from Scottish shortbread maker, Dean’s of Huntly; Machine Competency and Woodwork training through David Young Training; and an impressive piece of kit for the winner’s Shed workshop from Cromwell Tools that will be unveiled at the awards event.

The public has until midnight on 30 October 2022 to vote to crown the winner.

Last year’s title went to Westhill & District Men’s Shed, the first-ever Men’s Shed in Scotland. Shed Chairman Marty Kehoe said: “The recognition our Shed received from winning this prestigious title last year was a welcome boost for our members and raised our profile in the community. The trophy is magnificent and a big talking point with all of our visitors. We will certainly miss having it proudly on display but happy to pass the targe on to the next worthy winner.”