Three community champions to receive prestigious Leighton-Linslade honour are revealed

Michael Rowland, Danielle Harding, and Margaret Brown’s nominations for the 2018 award have been approved by Leighton-Linslade Town Council in recognition of their years of voluntary service to the benefit of residents of the town.

Michael will be well known to many in the community, having been involved in the local Scouting movement for several decades, including a stint as District Commissioner and subsequently District Chairman.

In addition to this, he has been involved in The Rotary Club of Leighton-Linslade since 1999, having served on most of its committees and having also held at times the posts of Treasurer and President.

Michael has also served on the Board of Governors at Oakbank School for some time and has helped the school in numerous ways on a voluntary basis.

Danielle was nominated for the award in recognition of her 20-plus years of helping adults with learning disabilities in the local community.

Having started volunteering for the Gateway Club in 1994, when this closed, Danielle was instrumental in starting up a new group through Mencap.

Danielle puts a huge amount of effort into organising all kinds of activities for group members and offering friendship and support in her own time. Recently, Danielle has established links with the Rotary Club of Leighton-Linslade and members, are now enjoying the opportunity to participate in a number of sports through the “Yes We Can” project.

The third recipient, Margaret, will also be well known to many within the community for her decades of contributions to a huge range of schemes and projects in the town.

Margaret’s voluntary activities have included establishing the ‘Information for Young Families’ booklet in the late 1970s, being involved in the formation of the Canoe Club as well as instrumental in setting up the Croquet Club in the late 1990s. Campaigning for many years on health matters, Margaret is a member of the Bassett Road Patient Participation Group and together with other like-minded volunteers, was instrumental in the development of the ‘Information for Older People’ booklet in 2015. In addition, Margaret has also served as a Governor on the Board of Vandyke Upper School for four years.

The trio will be presented with their award by the Town Mayor, Councillor Syed Rahman, at a ceremony to take place in March.

The Honorary Burgess is a prestigious award reserved for the truly deserving. If you know of a suitable candidate, the town council will be inviting nominations for the 2019 award until October 31. More information and a nomination form can be found on the Grants & Awards page of the Town Council website www.leightonlinslade-tc.gov.uk