FROME’S unsung heroes were celebrated at the Annual Town Meeting last week when civic awards were presented to local volunteers for their contributions to the town.
Mayor of Frome, cllr Sheila Gore awarded the Civic Awards to Frome Chamber of Commerce’s Neil Howlett; Lenka Grimes and Azeema Carfour from the Multicultural Frome event and local group Songs for the Memory.
Cllr Gore said, “One of the best jobs as mayor is to witness and thank the many people around town that contribute to making this a fantastic place to live in. During my time as mayor I’ve been invited to many organisations and talked to loads of wonderful individuals that make a real difference. This is my opportunity to give an award to some of those people.”
Presenting the award to Neil Howlett, cllr Gore said, “Neil chairs Frome Chamber of Commerce meetings with a light touch but manages to keep the group informed and steer them to understand the many issues that could affect businesses in Frome.
“He maintains interest and influence in many different areas in town working behind the scenes on umpteen issues and he puts in the hours to understand and explain the detail. The best way you will have benefitted from his perseverance is through being able to park for free around Christmas and New Year in the town’s car parks. So I’d like to thank Neil Howlett for all the work he does for this community.”
About Lenka Grimes and Azeema Carfour, cllr Gore said, “They have both been involved in the fantastic Children festival events organised by Purple Elephant, but it is for the Multicultural Frome event, hosted by Young People Frome that I’d particularly like to celebrate and thank them for.
“The event showed the town what an enormously diverse culture we have. I believe there were around 25 different cultures that came together in the Cheese & Grain last year. I hope this event will be repeated and become part of the town’s annual events.”
The final Civic Award went to Songs for the Memory. Cllr Gore said, “Songs for the Memory run singing sessions at Frome Hospital for those with dementia and their carers. They are just one of the varied and valuable groups around town that I’ve had the pleasure of visiting.
“This year Frome has been in the press as the best town in the south west and for having a creative response to an overwhelmed NHS. This wouldn’t have been happened but for the masses of the social and therapeutic support that groups like this one gives.
“They enable people to live in their own homes and provide their carers with social support to link up with others in a similar situation.”
