A Bridport philanthropist who has helped fund community groups and a bus service is among the winners of a prestigious honour.
The winners of awards celebrating ‘outstanding service’ to the Bridport community have been announced.
The Bridport Community Charter Fair Awards are presented annually to acknowledge outstanding service to the community.
The ‘Above and Beyond’ Award for an individual was awarded to life-long Bridport resident, Alan Williams.
Mr Williams said: "“It’s nice to be appreciated – I do a lot of things in the background that people don’t know about."
The philanthropist has been described by organisers as ‘a real community champion,’ and for many years contributed funding to local organisations, including the Arts Centre, Bridport Musical Theatre Company, Bridport Young Performers, and Axe Valley Ring and Ride bus service.
He added: "The thing is you don’t want to have a situation where you can’t go anywhere on a Sunday – The X53 Sunday bus service is quite well used.
"I did some performing in Bristol when I was working there about 20 years ago and actually performed on stage at the Hippodrome and I think it’s beneficial to support youngsters who are interested in it and some even go on to college and theatre school and become performers.”
He also helped to save the X53 Sunday service between Bridport and Weymouth, for which he was awarded a medal by the Campaign for Better Transport at a parliamentary reception in the House of Commons.
Mr Williams said: "It’s nice to be appreciated – I do a lot of things in the background that people don’t know about."
The thing is you don’t want to have a situation where you can’t go anywhere on a Sunday – The X53 Sunday bus service is quite well used.
The Charter Fair Trophy for a group or organisation will be awarded to The Ropemakers Pub and its proprietors, John and Geraldine Baker.
Mr and Mrs Baker said: “We’re delighted to have been selected for this trophy and would like to thank all of our customers and staff who have been so generous with their time, energy and money for local and national and even international charities.
“We believe that we are perfectly placed to host events and raise money for charity as we have the facilities and can hold a number of events each year.
"The main charities we support are The Living Tree and Parkinsons UK but we are asked to host events for many others. We firmly believe that a pub should be for the community and should be the central hub for social events.”
The awards will be presented by the Mayor of Bridport at 10am on Saturday, May 18 at Mountfield’s Millennium Green.
Organisers of this free annual event, showcasing local organisations and providing entertainment both at Mountfield and in Bucky Doo, have seen the fair develop into a major event.
They are also appealing for help, both in advance of and on the day and for future sponsorship to enable the event to continue and further expand, whilst gratefully acknowledging donations from countryside partnerships and Barratt David Wilson Homes, Bridport Choral Society, the Rex Trevett Fund, and others that have got involved in this year’s event.
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