Town's Director of Business Development Sean Jarvis has today revealed his delight at the Club winning the 'Family Club of the Year' award at the Football League Awards but has emphasized that Town must build on this in order to achieve even more.

"It's great to be recognized for our efforts and of course be regarded as an award winning club but we now must sustain our high standards and continue to develop," Sean explained to the official website.

"The Family of the Year award has been given to the club for it's off the field holistic approach to offering a family experience at the club and aiming to attract new junior supporters.

"The 'Fans of the Future' scheme was borne out of the hard work we have done in the past and brought together all our grass roots initiatives - as well as allowing us to easily develop new ones. This will soon include a new scheme aimed at all amateur clubs in our area."

The 'Fans of the Future' scheme is Town's way of combating the pull of Premiership clubs for children in the surrounding area. The Sporting Pride 7's Scheme is a large part of this initiative - offering children a free Huddersfield Town and Huddersfield Giants shirt and match tickets on their seventh birthday.

In 2007 Huddersfield Sporting Pride joined forces with long-time sponsor Yorkshire Building Society (www.ybs.co.uk) to take our flagship scheme to the next level. With investment and support from one of the best-known and community-focussed companies in the area and under the umbrella brand 'Fans of the Future', the 7s Scheme, Schools Promotions and Rugby and Football in the Community schemes continue to go from strength-to-strength.

We now have in excess of 100 schools with over 2,000 children registered and we have seen a marked increase in children supporting Huddersfield Town and Huddersfield Giants through season and matchday ticket sales, merchandise and other ventures. These supporters are the future of Huddersfield Town and Huddersfield Giants and we feel that we are beginning to win the war against the Premiership clubs.

To get involved with the 7s Scheme, please call Rachel Taylor on 01484 484113.

"On speaking with the judges they told us that the reason we won the award was due to not only the 'Fans of the Future' scheme but also the matchday experience at the Galpharm, quoting a mystery shopper who had visited town and was delighted how he and his family were treated," Jarvis continued.

"Getting that matchday experience right is critical. I can't boast that we get it right all the time but we are working towards improving the experience every single day. Naturally activities require investment but at Town we are continually willing to review what we have done and how we can move forward. Furthermore we are always willing to listen to supporters and try and take their comments on board and ultimately develop the matchday activities. However it is sometimes difficult as there are opposing and conflicting views between fans but overall I think we are getting it right and giving families an experience to remember. The emphasis is on getting it right and we will continue to adapt and change where necessary

"However, having now scooped the accolade it means we have to continually deliver and strive to be the leading light in being a family club. I am sure it will be tough but one thing is for certain we will not want to relinquish this title in a hurry!

"I am very proud of what everybody here is striving to achieve; from Sue Beaumont in the ticket office to Michele Adamson-Biott in the retail operation, Karen Haigh in the Lotteries, Alisdair Straughan in Media and Tracy Nelson in corporate - not forgetting the staff in their respective departments. Achieving the award is great recognition for all the team. It is now a case of building on this. I am delighted for them and of course Huddersfield Town as a lot of clubs will now be looking at us as to how we do things.

"As I have said there is however still a long way to go and will the support of fans we can only move forwards and upwards."

Sean also believes there are a few not-so-obvious benefits to winning the Family Club award.

"Already we have had a number of calls from existing sponsors not only congratulating the Club but also asking how they can get involved. Furthermore, the award demonstrates to potential sponsors that they will be dealing with a professional operation that has its community at its heart.

"Winning an award is a great accolade - every fan and sponsor involved should be proud. But ultimately we must continue to build on this platform and aim to win the accolade again next year."