Chris Pennell is one of five players to be nominated for the Aviva Premiership Rugby Community Player of the Season award.
During the 2016/17 season, Pennell has again shown huge dedication in supporting the array of initiatives overseen by the Club’s Community Foundation.
The award celebrates those who go the extra mile to make a difference in their local community through charity work – emphasising how much good Aviva Premiership Rugby stars do in their own time.
The Warriors full-back will be up against Bath Rugby’s Semesa Rokoduguni, Saracens’ Chris Ashton, Newcastle Falcons’ Nili Latu and Bristol Rugby’s Nick Koster, who are also nominated for the award.
The judging panel for the award includes Ricoh’s People & Corporate Responsibility Board Director Rebekah Wallis, Premiership Rugby’s PLAY Development Manager Kenny Brown and Aviva UK’s Community Investment Manager Debbie Bullock.
The full Aviva Community Player of the Season shortlist is:
• Chris Ashton – Saracens
• Nick Koster – Bristol Rugby
• Nili Latu – Newcastle Falcons
• Chris Pennell – Warriors
• Semesa Rokoduguni – Bath Rugby
Debbie Bullock, Community Investment Manager at Aviva, said: “It’s great to see community activity delivered and these players have really gone the extra mile to make a difference.
“It’s been really difficult to distinguish between them all because they are doing such great things.
“The theme running throughout the entire shortlist is that they all went above and beyond to support their various causes and activities.
“We reviewed all the applications and the supporting evidence in order to select this fantastic shortlist.
“There were a lot of really strong entries and everyone who has entered is doing a really great job in their own way in the local community.”
Rugby players are often seen as role models in their local communities and the work they do can make a huge difference – especially with young people, which is why Aviva and Premiership Rugby have teamed up to recognise the differences players can make.
Former winners of the award include Saracens’ Jamie George, Dom Waldouck of Northampton Saints, Warriors' Dean Schofield and Bob Casey of London Irish, who won the award in 2012.
Bullock added: “The community part of Aviva Premiership Rugby is vital. The fact they have that in their governing body structure is really important, and Aviva is a massive supporter of the local community as well – with what we do through our Aviva Community Fund and other programmes.
“So there is that alignment in what we and Aviva Premiership Rugby do in the community.”
The winner will rub shoulders with the biggest names in English rugby at a glittering ceremony at the Lancaster London Hotel, presented by BT Sport's Craig Doyle on Wednesday 17 May.
Along with the winner of the Aviva Community Player of the Season, the winners of the following awards will also be announced:
• Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Season
• BT Sport Dream Team
• Citizen Try of the Season
• Gilbert Golden Boot
• Land Rover Discovery of the Season
• Ricoh Director of Rugby of the Season
• Singha Premiership Rugby 7s Player of the Series
• Trivento Top Try Scorer of the Season
• Women's Premiership Players’ Player of the Year
Hear the identity of the winners first on Twitter via the @premrugby account. Use hashtag #AvivaPremAwards to join the conversation.