Stroud Town Council

Annual Civic Awards 2011

More than 150 years of community involvement had been given by the seven award winners. Mayor Andy Read commented: "One thing that has always made Stroud a special place is the huge number of people who are willing to give up their time to help others. It's great to celebrate this and recognise some of Stroud's unsung heroes."

The awards were as follows:

Mayor's Award for significant contributions to Stroud.

Alan Peyton from Shepherds Croft led the organisation of a year-long programme of events to celebrate the centenary of All Saints Church in Uplands in 2010. Has been integral to church life for many decades being in its choir since the age of seven. Alan is also currently secretary of the Parochial Church Council, a governor at Uplands Primary School and a trustee of the Stroud United Charities.

PSCO Gary Lynch for going way beyond what is expected of him in his job. In a few years Gary has become a familiar face across the town. He is always willing to help anyone, always willing to try to find a solution to a problem and he always lets people know what has a happened. As an oficer who is always willing to go that extra mile, Gary is a real credit to the constabulary and has received praise from many residents and businesses over the past few years. 
 
Angela Lamond - chair trustees Stroud Beresford Group
It was in 1973 that the first refuge for women who’d been victims of domestic violence opened in Chiswick, London.
Three years later and a group of people from the Stroud valleys identified that the same sad situations were happening in the sleepy Cotswolds. The Beresford Group was formed as a charity and opened its first women’s refuge in Stroud.
More than 35 years later and the Beresford Group is one of the longest running independent providers of such support in the country and the only remaining independent provider in the whole of Gloucestershire.
The Beresford Group operates from two properties in our town which offer safe, short-term accommodation and support for up to 8 women and 15 children. It offers support and advice to many more families through its phone lines. In the past 35 years many hundreds if not thousands of local families in crisis have had their lives supported through the work of this single, independent charity.
All of this is currently achieved through its five staff and a management committee of three volunteers plus two additional trustees.
One person who helped set up the Beresford Group in 1976, has been involved in guiding its work ever since, and is currently chair of its trustees. When you also consider that until she retired last year, she combined all of this with being Deputy Head at Maidenhill School, you can see why the final Mayors Award for 2011 goes to recognise the contributions to Stroud of Angela Lamond.

 
YOUNG PERSON OF THE YEAR - Craig Johnson

Craig from Matthews Way, Paganhill was nominated for his unpaid work with two youth groups in the Maypole Hall and the enthusiasm he puts into the clubs.  This deserves recognition. He is very aware of all the regulations and issues that go with running youth groups and is obviously a very caring young man. The youngsters are very fond of him and he is an excellent role model. Craig worked extremely hard putting on the four shows of Snow White and the Seven Aliens Pantomime, gathering a solid group of helpers to help with the production.

CIVIC AWARD - The Reverend Canon Barry Coker (Father Barry)

Father Barry has served the parish of Stroud for 21 years. For 12 years, apart from running 3 churches he was Rural Dean. He is also a Canon of Gloucester Cathedral and a member of Diocesan and Synod for several years.
He is involved in or supports a number of local charities including Homestart, SylvanusLysons Trust, Stroud United Charities, Chaplain to Sea Cadets, served on several bodies of SDC including the Local strategic partnership, Marah, Uplands Care Service.
Local children will know Father Barry from the assemblies and ‘open the book’ initiative he does at the schools. Father Barry is supportive of everyone in the parish and to people unconnected to the parish.  He has supported the homeless in Stroud handing out food and vouchers to those in need. He will be retiring in September with his last Benefice Service being 18th September at St Laurence Church.

COMMUNITY AWARD -  Lucas Schoemaker

Lucas from Highfield Rd, Stroud has been actively involved in community projects and campaigns in Stroud across three decades. He was part of the campaign to save the historic buildings in Stroud High Street from demolition. His main role has been to establish Shire Training Workshops. It started off as a training project in the former British School off Slad Rd before converting the abandoned former Painswick Inn at the bottom of Gloucester Street into a centre for housing, training and support for young single homeless people. STW now operates projects at several premises across the town under the name of the Five Valleys Foyer from which Lucas retired last year. Among his many other projects, Lucas was also a founder member of Stroud Commonwealth which currently operates the Social Enterprise Centre in Brickrow but previously created the building off Stroud high Street that is now home to Stroud FM as well as originally acquiring The Space as an arts centre.

TRADER  of the Year -  Gelda Naumann from Global Organics This was what the person who nomated Gelda had to say: “She provides a shining example of how a customer facing business should be run. She is always happy to serve her clientele and sees it as her role to try to meet their needs rather than viewing them as a source of income. She is genuinely interested in her customers and knows what they like to buy and something about them as individuals. I have seen her tell customer that a piece of fruit was a bit squishy and replace it and then give the less than perfect fruit to the customer for free so that they could get something out of it.
With her partner Andy, Gelda creates a pleasant ambience by the Global Organics stall and complete strangers soon join in the friendly banter and conversation. Shopping for fruit and vegetables is no longer a mundane chore but a pleasurable experience that one looks forward to.”

During the evening Stroud Civic Society also presented its winner for the town  council’s Annual Design Award for the best buildings in the town. This year it went to Ecotricity and architect David Austin for the refurbishment of the former Stroud and Swindon branch office in Russell Street. The company now employs over 200 people at its two offices in the town centre.

Article addded online 5th April 2011

All photos by Debbie Hewitt.