THE HIGH Sheriff of Worcestershire, Charles Moyle JP, has presented community champions at Bromsgrove’s St John’s Church with an ‘outstanding contribution’ awards.
Mr Moyle handed over the award during a Cake and Coffee Concert at the church.
The morning’s concert ‘The Bailiff’s Dinner’ was a result of the Court Leet’s archiving project.
During the cataloguing process songs were discovered which were sung at the dinners in Victorian times. Current Court Leet members performed a selection of these songs for the concert.
Who received the accolades?
The first award from the High Sheriff went to Helen Voyle – the lead cataloguer in the Court Leet Archiving project carried out at The Hive in Worcester. Volunteer Helen worked tirelessly to catalogue every item in the archive, which totaled around 3,500 documents.
Next, the High Sheriff presented an award to Bromsgrove Town Crier Kevin Ward. He praised Mr Ward’s dedication, loyalty and commitment and said – for the past 40 years – his voice had been present, bringing news to the town’s people.
Pat Tansell, a Bromsgrove resident since birth, also received an award for championing and promoting the town’s rich history throughout her life. Pat keeps up-to-date with local current affairs, is always positive and accurate with the information she shares.
She is a long-standing member of the Bromsgrove Society executive committee and is always available to help provide information about the history of the town.
Steve Cowperthwaite received an award in recognition of his dedication to the arts in Bromsgrove. Steve organises the monthly Saturday Cake and Coffee Concerts at St John’s Church, where he is the choir master, organist and director of music. Steve is also Chair of Bromsgrove Arts Alive and a very active trustee at Bromsgrove Community Arts – the organisation keeping Artrix arts centre and theatre open for all.
With the scaffolding rising around the church’s tower, heading up to the top of the spire to restore the cracked section, the team from Friends of St John’s – Jo Slade, Sheila Vincent and Hilda Roxborough – were each given the High Sheriff’s Award to thank them for their efforts. They raised £386,000 during 2024 which has enabled to work to be undertaken this year.
High Sheriff Medal
The presentation ceremony concluded with the awarding of The High Sheriff Medal to Jo. This was in recognition of the number of community projects and organisations she is involved in, the work she does for those organisations and the contribution made to the community.
Jo said: “It was wonderful to see much loved and respected members of our community recognised for the work they do to support the town and our community and I am hugely grateful to The High Sheriff for taking the time to join us at St John’s and present the awards.
“I was incredibly honoured to be the recipient of The High Sheriff’s Medal – it was not expected and I was very shocked to receive it.”
The High Sheriff, Charles Moyle, said he was delighted to present the awards, which recognise exceptional work and remarkable contributions to the Bromsgrove community, to extraordinary people who spend their lives enhancing the lives of fellow residents.
