Celebrating unsung heroes in the Bury St Edmunds community
A teenage fundraiser and a woman who works to help the deaf were among those recognised at an awards ceremony held by Bury St Edmunds Town Council on Tuesday.
Jane Frost was named Citizen of the Year at the St Edmund’s Day Awards and Allotments Awards, held annually to celebrate those who go the extra mile for the town and communtiy.
Jane was nominated for her work with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Association in Bury and in particular, assisting with the upkeep of the building, organising events and outings for the group and fundraising.
Other nominees who received certificates were David Bonnett for his work with the Bury Drop-in Centre, Patrick Church for his work to keep Abbeygate Cinema open over the 51 years he worked there, Marian Shaw, who was one of the founding members of the Athenaeum Astronomy Association, James Sheen for his work to raise the profile of Bury St Edmunds and St Edmund’s Day, and Martyn Taylor, chairman of the Bury Society. The Young Citizen of the Year shield went to Phoebe Hastings for her personal achievements as well as her fundraising efforts for Children in Need.
Over the past four years, the 14-year-old has raised over £1,500 for the charity. From November 11 to 13, she raised almost £400 for Children in Need, holding a craft stall, doing a sponsored four-mile swim and holding a pyjama spin class at Abbeycroft Leisure Centre.
The other two nominees were Samuel Asker, for his devotion to his ambition to get into the Great Britain cycling team, and Alex Brentnall, for being a dedicated carer to her younger brother while carrying out part-time work in a café, volunteering at West Suffolk Hospital and achieving good grades at GCSE.
Presenting the awards, Cllr Andrew Speed, chairman of the council, said: “There’s an awful lot of people doing an awful lot of good things for the town.
“I’m very proud to be associated with that and this is just a small element of what those people do to contribute to our town. It was a very hard decision for the many councillors we have who had to choose who to name the winners.”
The evening also saw former chairman Stefan Oliver hand out the annual allotment awards.
The prize for Best Allotment Plot went to Jeff Hall, who was not able to attend the ceremony, with Colin Palmer in second place. Maria Pinhal won Best Newcomer.
“Trying to work out the best allotment plot was very difficult. We are very proud of our allotments. We are just amazed,” said Mr Oliver.