Mansfield Girlguide volunteers honoured for long service

The exceptional achievements and commitment of local volunteers were honoured at a tea party given by Girlguiding Nottinghamshire.
The Mansfield contingent at the ceremony, from left: Kathy Straw, Joy Whittemore, Helen Oates,  Julie Patman,  Jackie Brocklehurst (county commissioner),  Kirsty Pogson, Kayleigh Hunt (both assistant county commissioners), Heather Watson, Catherine Leaver and Jacqueline Kiszel. Photo: Tracey WhitefootThe Mansfield contingent at the ceremony, from left: Kathy Straw, Joy Whittemore, Helen Oates,  Julie Patman,  Jackie Brocklehurst (county commissioner),  Kirsty Pogson, Kayleigh Hunt (both assistant county commissioners), Heather Watson, Catherine Leaver and Jacqueline Kiszel. Photo: Tracey Whitefoot
The Mansfield contingent at the ceremony, from left: Kathy Straw, Joy Whittemore, Helen Oates, Julie Patman, Jackie Brocklehurst (county commissioner), Kirsty Pogson, Kayleigh Hunt (both assistant county commissioners), Heather Watson, Catherine Leaver and Jacqueline Kiszel. Photo: Tracey Whitefoot

Held at Mansfield’s Portland College, the tea party gave county commissioner Jackie Brocklehurst the opportunity to present awards to more than 50 members and friends of Girlguiding across Nottinghamshire.

In addition to announcing 22 long service awards – including the county’s first awards marking 60 years of service –Jackie presented Oak Leaf Awards to 14 leaders and the Nottinghamshire Star to four non-uniformed volunteers in recognition of their outstanding support for local Guiding.

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Jackie also used the occasion to give 12 special ‘Thanks’ badges as personal gestures of appreciation.

Several of these went to members of the team responsible for MegaMoot, a camp run jointly by Girlguiding Nottinghamshire and Nottinghamshire Scouts over four days in May and attended by some 4,500 young people.

The Mansfield Division was well represented on the podium, with long service awards presented to Julie Patman (40 years), Catherine Leaver (40 years), Jacqueline Kiszel (40 years) and Joy Whittemore (30 years), and Oak Leaf Awards for Unit Leaders Kathy Straw and Helen Oates to recognise their outstanding enthusiasm for local Guiding.

There was also a ‘Thanks’ badge for Heather Watson acknowledging her vital role in co-ordinating the sub-teams at the MegaMoot camp.

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Jackie said: “I’m proud to say that the long service awards conferred recognise a grand total of more than 860 years of service to Girlguiding, and it was a privilege to publicly celebrate such exceptional commitment.

“Helping young people get the most out of life is rewarding in so many ways.

“Our Girlguiding volunteers not only benefit from training, mentoring and invaluable experience but, as shown by this tea party, we also have a lot of fun along the way.”