April 18, 2012 9.18 pm This story is over 156 months old

Medals for Lincoln’s community heroes

Unsung heroes: Six people who worked to make a difference in the community have been awarded Mayoral Medals.

Six inspiring people, including a volunteer coordinator, firefighter and violinist have been awarded a Mayoral Medal at a ceremony at the Guildhall on Wednesday.

The winners are chosen by the Right Worshipful Mayor of Lincoln, Councillor Kathleen Brothwell, as a way of thanking the residents for their hard work without any recognition or remuneration.

Mayoral Medals were originally presented by the Mayor to thank those returning from the First World War for their services

Councillor Kathleen Brothwell, said: “Each of the six Mayoral Medal winners has shown true dedication and selflessness when working in our communities, making a real difference to people’s lives every day.

“These people are often our unsung heroes, and go about their work without any knowledge of how much people appreciate it.

“I’m incredibly proud to be able to bestow this honour on each individual, recognising their achievement.”

The Silver Arrow award, to recognise young individuals or groups who have achieved something significant, was not awarded this year, due to not enough nominations being received.

The winners of the 2012 Mayoral Medals are:

Pete Genders, founder of Off The Bench, a voluntary organisation which works with disadvantaged young people across Lincoln. The charity now has 70 volunteers across the region and 22 full-time staff working on projects such as the restoration of the Ritz cinema.

Neil Blow for his work and dedication to the Lincoln Food Bank.

Josephine Gadd for 60 years of work with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and 48 years with the Lincoln Concert Orchestra, which raises a lot of money for charity. She was also a cub and scout leader for 16 years.

Olive Musson for her work at St John the Baptist Church, putting on events for the Ermine community and encouraging friendship, social interaction and fellowship.

Andy Payne, as well as being a firefighter, helped build safer communities by creating the Stay Safe Days for the young people in Lincolnshire, which ensures they are supported, educated and encouraged.

Bev Smith worked with Abbey Youthie to get 50 young people off the streets and engaged in useful activities, resulting in reduced anti-social behaviour in the area.