Chris Brandrick

US marketing expert Trey Pennington, who was due to speak in Lincoln this week, was found dead outside a church on the evening of Sunday, September 4.

Pennington, of Greenville, South Carolina, was scheduled to speak at the upcoming Linc Up Live digital media conference this Friday, September 9.

Pennington tweeted hours before his death to his 111,000 plus followers, saying: “Sure am thankful for online friends who are real friends offline, too. Love you.”

Local police confirmed Pennington’s passing at 9:30pm local time (2:30am GMT), and initial reports suggest that his death was the result of suicide.

Following Pennington’s passing away, the digital media event at The Showroom will now be dedicated to his memory.

Conference founder Glenn Le Santo, who knew Pennington personally, said the following upon hearing the sad news:

“Trey was an inspirational man and his loss is tragic. We are all stunned and very upset. Trey was born in Mobil, in the southern USA, and he had that typical warmth that’s always associated with the Deep South.

“He was smart, generous and very sensitive. His demise followed a period of depression – but one we thought he had come through. We feel robbed, both of a friend and of a great colleague.

“The LincUpLive conference this week will be dedicated to his memory. All profits and donations will go to The Samaritans.

“It seems suitable to do this as The Samaritans was founded by Chad Varah who was a curate in the Lincoln diocese, and they work tirelessly to stop suicides.

“Please help us support them and Trey’s memory.”

Happy Birthday — Lincolnshire Co-op Chief Executive Ursula Lidbetter awarding Bailgate Pre-School their £1,000 grant.

To celebrate 150 years of trade, Lincolnshire Co-operative has announced which local groups are set to receive a slice of its £500,000 grant give-away.

The county-wide co-operative launched the Big Birthday Awards in May, offering grants ranging from £1,000 to £25,000.

Applicants had until July 1 to bid for a share of the half a million pound prize fund, and Lincolnshire Co-op has now revealed that more than 700 applicants were received, including those from local schools, charities and community groups.

Since the closing date, the Co-operative has been deliberating which applications would be successful. Of the initial applicants, a total of 150 will be awarded grant money.

The 150 groups will receive their awards at various Lincolnshire Co-op outlets across the city on Friday, August 19.

Of the £500,000, a total of £171,000 was awarded to projects within the Lincoln city area, including grant awards for Bailgate Pre-School (pictured),Lincoln Cathedral, Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue, Chad Varah Primary School, Lincoln BIG, The Imposters Rollergirls, Lincoln Imps Trampoline Club and several others.

Sam Turner, the Lincolnshire Co-operative’s Membership and Community Manager said:

“We asked for groups to focus on the themes of community sport, heritage, health, environment or education and we were amazed by the number of applications we received.

“We had a really diverse mix of groups applying for the awards and what stood out in them all was how much good work is going on out there.

“We’re a co-operative, owned by our members, so the decisions on the Big Birthday Awards were made by those who sit on our area groups, the Member Services Council and the Board of Directors.

“I know they had a very difficult job picking the successful applicants.

“We hope that the £500,000 we give out on our official 150th birthday will help all 150 recipients build thriving projects that make a difference to local people and their communities.

“We wish all of the groups the best of luck in the future.”

Source: Lincolnshire Co-op | Image: Lincolnshire Co-op