THE nominees for White Horse News’ Person of the Year 2013 competition have been compiled, and now readers are being asked to cast their vote on who they think should be crowned the winner.
In our last issue, White Horse News asked readers to nominate their ‘Person of the Year’ – somebody in the town who deserves recognition for their outstanding actions over the past year or who has had the biggest impact on life in the town.
Below are the nominations. You can vote by simply emailing your choice to news@whitehorsenews.co.uk or by filling out the form on page 21 and returning it to Westbury Visitor Centre in the High Street or send it to White Horse News, 31 Market Place, Melksham. SN12 6ES
The deadline for voting is 5pm on WEDNESDAY 22nd JANUARY.
PAT MASLIN
Pat has lived in Westbury for 65 years and started working for the Westbury Scouts in 1979 and has been an active member of the local troop ever since.
She worked on the committee for several years, before she helped to set up the second ‘Beaver Colony’ in the county.
She has been Beaver Leader for 20 years, Group Scout Leader in Westbury for many years and is in her thirty-second year of being a Leader.
Pat said, “I am very surprised to be nominated, I usually try to keep my head down!
“We do it for the children and to see them get something out of it is fantastic.”
ROY INWOOD
Roy is the Christmas Tree Festival organiser and chair of the Westbury Music and Arts Festival. The Music and Arts Festival has been running for six years and he has been the chair for the last three years.
He has organised the town’s Christmas Tree Festival for five years, during which time he has raised over £10,000. The last festival raised £2,000 for the upkeep of the church.
Roy said, “I am very flattered to be nominated for the Person of the Year of Westbury and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people that helped at the festival and the bands, choirs etc who helped to make it a wonderful event. ”
HILARY REED
Hilary is a puppy walker for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Hilary has been puppy walking for 32 years; the puppies live with her for a year, she has to walk them all separately and she does the basics in training for them as well as looking after a retired Guide Dog of her own. Hilary has also been fundraising for the charity for 27 years, organising an annual coffee morning and also fetes and she supports people who want to fundraise for the charity.
Hilary gives talks and creates awareness about Guide Dogs and the charity and how important it is to raise money as it is not supported by government. She also volunteers at the Memorial Theatre in Frome one day a week.
Hilary said, “I feel very pleased, it is nice to be recognised for my hard work. If we didn’t do what we did, people who need them wouldn’t have Guide Dogs, and the chance of independence and freedom that we all take for granted. Confidence and companionship comes with the dog.”
CHERRY LEWIS
Cherry has been nominated due to her work with Project 300 which sends refurbished computers from the UK to her native island of Cebu in the Philippines. This work has become all the more important following Typhoon Haiyan last year. The project is ongoing and has delivered around 350 computers so far.
Her belief is that education can help to support the children to overcome the great difficulties that face them in this challenging time. Cherry started the project two years ago as a recycling project with the aim of going green and supporting less landfill, but it has grown since and now recycles clothing and other items for the good of children’s learning.
Cherry is a Filipino woman who lives in Westbury and has worked hard to help both the local community and her community back in the Philippines.
Cherry said, “I am surprised and cried with joy that people are so supportive of my desire to help the young children of the country I come from.”
