A SALTCOATS volunteer has been nominated for achiever of the year for his work with North Ayrshire Athletics Club.

John Stewart, a former secondary school teacher, gives up his free time to the local jogscotland group and now he is on a shortlist of three for the jogscotland Achiever of the Year.

John took early retirement from his role as a teacher due to issues with depression and severe anxiety.

He started with North Ayrshire Athletics Club, a jogscotland group, a little over a year ago, and has not only come out of his shell and started to interact with other joggers, he has begun taking an active role in running of both the group and the parent club.

Running has helped improve John’s mental health so much that he now regularly volunteers at club events helping young athletes and compiles the press reports.

Jogscotland’s Sue Gyford said: “We had an incredibly high standard of entries for this year’s annual awards, so to make it onto the shortlist is a great achievement – but very well deserved.

“John has overcome some difficult mental health issues to become a stalwart of both the jogscotland group and its parent club. Suffering from serious anxiety and depression makes it hard to get out and take part in new activities, but John nonetheless found the courage to go along to jogscotland.

Not only that, he has gone on to make significant contributions to the group and club, and to be open about his mental health difficulties, which can only give courage to others in the same position.

“It’s a real pleasure to recognise his achievement with this nomination – he really does exemplify the best of jogscotland.”