Mayor recognises dedicated local volunteers at awards ceremony

These included 9 awards for long service volunteers, a new category this year, 14 awards for individual volunteers, a record seven young volunteer awards (aged under  25), 13 volunteer team awards, two trustee awards and two business awards. 

Special recognition

Two award winners also received special recognition for their outstanding service, having volunteered for 90 years between them. Judy Clark, from Reigate has dedicated more than 40 years’ service to the Scouting movement and Jean Longley, from Merstham, has volunteered for 30 years with the Library Direct Home Service (formerly Books on Wheels).

The Mayor of Reigate & Banstead, Cllr Dorothy Ross-Tomlin, presented the winners with framed certificates at the ceremony, which was followed by a reception to thank them for their valuable commitment and contribution to the borough. 

Inspirational

The Mayor said of the winners: “‘Taking Responsibility’ is my chosen theme for my year as Mayor. We have heard so many inspirational stories of people who, through volunteering, do just that to support our communities. Volunteering regularly is not easy, but it is extremely rewarding. I want to thank all of the borough’s volunteers for contributing so greatly to our local area and making the lives of so many people so much better. These awards are just one small way to say ‘thank you’ for the selfless work they do for others.”

The annual awards scheme, now in its fifteenth year, is run by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council and Voluntary Action Reigate and Banstead to celebrate the unsung heroes who do so much valuable work for the borough and its communities and to show appreciation for their time and commitment to helping others. 

Positive impact

Alisdair Semple, Trustee of Voluntary Action Reigate & Banstead, said: “What a fantastic evening!  It is always inspiring to hear about the positive impact that volunteers are making in our local community. We hear a lot of bad news stories, but it’s also important to remember that, every day, thousands of Surrey residents give some of their time to help others. The Mayor's Volunteer Awards is an opportunity to celebrate ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

Award winners

Special Recognition Awards

• Judy Clark, for more than 40 years’ service dedicated to the Scouting movement (see below)
• Jean Longley, for 30 years volunteering for the Library Direct Home Service (see below)

Long Service Awards

• Judy Clark, volunteer for the Scouting movement for more than 40 years 
• Jean Longley & Margaret Merry - Library Direct Home Service (formerly Books on Wheels) - 30 years and 14 years’ service respectively
• Maureen Holdaway, The Children's Trust - 25 years’ service
• Brenda Harrison, Treasurer and Secretary, War Memorial Hall, Burgh Heath - 20 years’ service
• Janet Slater, Reigate Priory Hockey Club and the sport of hockey in Surrey – 20 years’ service 
• Shirley Cox, J.P. Chairman and a Director of Reigate Business Guild -  18 years’ service
• Tony Brown, Group Scout leader, 17th Reigate Scout Group – 16 years’ service
• Norma Leadbeater, founder of Orbit Shed Inclusive Theatre - 16 years’ voluntary service
• Mary Griffiths, Home-Start East Surrey - 10 years voluntary service

Individual Volunteer Awards

• Anne Bestente, Banstead Tuesday Club and D-caf groups for people with dementia and their carers. 
• Christina Holmes, founder member of the Chipstead Evening Women’s Institute, set up in 1978
• Geoffrey Taylor, Age Concern Merstham, Redhill and Reigate and Furnistore (he is also involved with Merstham Hub and the Live At Home Scheme, through Men in Sheds and at Furnistore).
• James Crouch, honouring Banstead’s WWI fallen heroes
• Gillian Lownsbrough, Age Concern Banstead
• Helen Sareen, Dyscover (charity providing support to people with aphasia)
• Jim Illingworth, Dyscover, 
• Julia Hancock, ‘Us in a Bus’ 
• Kate Pickering, The Children's Trust
• Lesley Beard, Tattenham’s Community Library and Manna Shelter for the Homeless
• Louise McLaughlin, St Catherine's Hospice Redhill charity shop 
• Michael Bryne, The Children’s Trust
• Roger Bartlett, Reigate & Redhill Live At Home Scheme Horley Club volunteer
• Cdt/Sgt Tim Scargill, Redhill Army Cadet Force, Surrey (Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment) Army Cadet Force Battalion 
• Sian Wallis, Radio Redhill and Beaver Scout Leader at the 14th Reigate Scout Group 
• Susan Field, Voluntary Action Reigate & Banstead (VARB) 

Young Volunteer Awards

• Charlotte Pickering, The Children's Trust 
• Courtney Rose, Orbit Shedchildren's theatre group 
• Darcy Rennles, Orbit Shed 
• Harry Scotton, Orbit Shed 
• Maisie Scotton, Orbit Shed 
• Morgan Howland, Orbit Shed 
• Samuel Hopkins, National Autistic Society

Volunteer Team Awards

• Community Lunch Team at St Mark’s Church, Reigate
• Loveworks Cuppa Tea Club volunteers
• Loveworks Food Bank volunteers
• Decaf volunteers at Reigate and Redhill Live at Home Scheme
• East Surrey Macmillan Cancer Support Centre volunteers at Surrey & Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust
• George and the Giant Pledge
• Horley Tangent at Stripey Stork
• Merstham Community Facility Trust volunteers
• The Merstham Mix Café volunteers
• Redhill Youth FC
• The Include Choir volunteers
• The Festive Feast team at Voluntary Action Reigate & Banstead
• Volunteer Stewards at the Harlequin Theatre & Cinema

Individual Trustee Awards

• Angela Fraser DL, Age Concern Merstham, Redhill and Reigate 
• Imelda Charles-Edwards, The Children's Trust 

Business Awards

• eSure - Jane Babbage, bags for schools for 
• Pfizer – Margaret Mortlock, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager