Richard Lebus, Cheryl King, Gill Murphy, Beatrice McIntosh, Pete White and Liz Collins
- Marsh Award for Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Richard Lebus – Richard has been extraordinary during Covid and instrumental in getting activity going online via Zoom and YouTube and sharing his knowledge widely with other societies by being constantly available via phone, email and zoom. Richard helped to train 100’s of societies to use Zoom, including 1,400 volunteers. He has kept many societies running due to his dedication to teaching others, after training himself first. He attended many training sessions and meetings, and many would have struggled without his help. Richard has supported Lecturers ensuring they shared in the increased income generated by inviting members outside of his own society. Individual Volunteer Awards
- Cheryl King – Cheryl formed Roseacre Gardens Little Art and Roseacre Gardens Teen Art on Zoom for children and students in her neighbourhood and has kept art alive during this difficult period of home schooling. She also formed Roseacre Grown Up Art where she invited others to join weekly and discuss different works of art and paint their own versions. The group is very diverse in age and geographically and was a lifeline for its members during lockdown.
- Gill Murphy – Gill has been a member of the Dukeries committee since 2011. In 2013 she formed a volunteer group to create the society’s first Children’s Trail at All Saints church, followed by trails at 6 more churches, and managed to negotiate with the council for free printing of all the trails materials. She worked with the Alzheimer’s Society to create a Memorial Trail that was a great success. Gill is now a representative for the East Midlands Area Committee for Children’s Trails and encourages other societies in the area to form their own trails.
- Beatrice McIntosh – Beatrice was an inspirational Chair of Southport with a special commitment to involving young people in the arts, causing her to set up an evening society that was more accessible to young people. This was followed by Vivienne Westwood workshops. During the lockdown months she threw herself into ways of keeping in touch with members via lectures on Zoom and telephone calls. She devised IT lessons for those with no skills or confidence and personally supported them. Beatrice took her own personal books to the homes of people who could not access the online resources and set up regular phone contact so that they didn’t feel isolated.
- Pete White – Pete is the Treasurer of his society and has enabled the Arts Society Harborough to engage members in a positive, inclusive way and has regenerated and saved his society during the coronavirus outbreak. He has delivered lectures, along with the opportunity for attendees to join Q and A sessions and has made these easily accessible, causing him to receive valuable and positive feedback. Pete contacts people individually and has taken the committee every step of the way by training and motivating the members.
- Liz Collins (Highly Commended) – Liz has been involved in Art @ The Station working with schools in the Guildford Area and liaising with the South West Railway and ACORP to produce successful and exciting displays of work. Liz manages the art displays, works with local schools to encourage them to produce artwork and produced an ‘Idiots Guide’ which includes top tips to help societies.