On the 26th of October, the Rotary Club of Horbury and Ossett Phoenix gathered to honour four very special people, in recognition of the tireless and unstinting work they do in the Horbury and Ossett community
Janet Lodge – Ossett Youth Theatre
Janet has spent just about her entire life devoted to the theatre being everything from a performer through to being the director of Ossett Youth Theatre.
She founded Ossett Youth Theatre in 2002 which took over The Elizabethan Childrens Amateur Operatic Society.
Ossett Youth Theatre provides performance experiences for children from the age of 8 through to 20+ year olds who themselves have been with the theatre since they were younger.
In addition to the tireless work Janet has given to the Theatre, she has also worked as a School Secretary at Flushdyke Primary and Horbury Junior Schools where she also ran Out of School Drama Clubs, staging plays and theatre productions.
Janet is also a member of Batley Thespians, and the Kingsway Singers as well as involving herself with Keep Fit and raising money for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Linda King
Linda has devoted over 50 years to Girl Guiding and the Brownies providing development experiences for young girls from the ages of 7 to 10 in the Brownies and 10 to 14 in the Girl Guides
Having moved from Widnes to Netherton she began at the United Reform Church in Dewsbury and ran her own pack at the Parish Church in Thornhill Lees for 20 years
Linda is a voluntary leader with 44th Horbury Brownies and has been the group's Treasurer for 7 years. She continues to involve herself with fundraising for the pack and for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Linda was also honoured with a visit to Westminster Abbey in recognition of 40 years service to Girlguiding. She spends additional time reading with children to help develop their literacy skills
Brian Jennings and Katie Swift
Brian and Katie are the founding members of FLAG Fundraising (fun, laughs and giggles) in 2014 and have successfully raised over £14,000 for various worthy causes including; Wakefield Hospice, Cancer Research UK, Sheffield Childrens Hospital, Catch a Falling Star, Macmillan Cancer Care, Forget Me Not Childrens Hospice, REACT, Poppy’s Cause, Leeds Homeless Partnership, Wakefield Street Kitchen and CAP Care.
They tirelessly fundraised for the defibrillator in Horbury Town Centre and regularly feed the homeless either personally, or through supplying those that do. In addition to their support for their community, they have sent care packages for Syrian refugees and even dog food for Romanian strays.
Brian and Katie plan to keep growing FLAG to become their own registered charity and a significant force for good in the community.
It is worth mentioning that all members of FLAG are in their 20’s and early 30’s and despite having to juggle work and family commitments, contribute an incredible amount of their ‘free’ time to fundraising initiatives.