HM King’s Birthday Honours List 2023: Tailored Leisure Company

South Tyneside based Tara Mackings , Director of Tailored Leisure Company (TLC), was awarded a British Empire Medal in the HM King’s Birthday Honours List, for services to her community.

TLC is renowned in the North East region for their ethos and vision to overcome the barriers and social exclusion faced by disabled people, specifically in terms of access to fitness and leisure activities.

Tara has been a key driving force in developing accessible projects in the local community since its inception. Tara and the team are committed to developing accessible opportunities to get fit, have fun and relax with as little stress as possible and are passionate about overcoming the barriers and social exclusion faced by disabled people.

Tara Mackings BEM said: “I was absolutely shocked and overwhelmed when I was contacted by the Cabinet Office with the news. It’s such an amazing accolade to receive for both myself, the team and Tailored Leisure Company as a whole.

We’ve worked so hard over the years to build the concept and to receive recognition from the highest levels is just awe-inspiring, I really can’t believe it and to especially have my children share this special memory with me is just wonderful.”

The award-winning formula at TLC has seen the team pick up an influx of award nominations and wins for their ground-breaking work and they have established a strong collaborative working approach to drive the development of accessible projects across the region, with partners including SAFCs Foundation of Light, Sunderland City Council and Headway Wearside.

The exciting announcement comes on the back of recent news that the team were successful in securing a £125,000 funding award from the National Lottery Community Fund for a two-year project to further grow their work in the region.

To find out more about TLC visit www.tailoredleisure.co.uk