MANY of the ‘great and the good’ of Holsworthy community life were celebrated in a recent awards presentation evening.

Cllr Jon Hutchings, the mayor of Holsworthy, presented a number of towering figures in local life with ‘community champions’ awards, to acknowledge, celebrate and thank them for their work in helping to make the town the place that it is.

Representatives of Holsworthy Museum and Holsworthy Football Club were delighted when they were told they would be sharing a little over £9,000 that had been raised through fundraising for the mayor’s charities in 2025 to 2026.

First, Lt Jim Harvey was presented with the prestigious ‘Freeman’ honour for his 25 years leading generations of the town’s youths in the Army Cadets.

The first community champions to receive their awards were Nathan Evans and Ian Parker – who were thanked for their tireless work helping the town council at events.

Next was Debbie Florence for the work she puts into projects in the town, with the mayor stating: “If you haven’t seen her, you’ve probably heard her.”

Dave and Tracey Bingham were awarded by the mayor for the work they put into making sure Holsworthy Football Club runs smoothly behind the scenes while the treasurer, Amy Rogers was also celebrated.

Liz Buckingham was also nominated for an award by Holsworthy Town Council’s more ‘green fingered contingent’ for her work in Badock Gardens.

The final award was given to a stalwart of Holsworthy Lions, Jeff Wyatt. The mayor said of Mr Wyatt: “When you see someone selling for the Lions Club, it is almost guaranteed to be this man. I can’t even begin to guess how many hours he’s spent in Holsworthy Square.”

To loud applause, Mr Wyatt accepted his honour and said: “I would like to thank everyone for their support to Holsworthy Lions throughout the years, I am very honoured.”