Truro’s community stalwarts will be celebrated at a special ceremony on March 22 in the Methodist Church at 6pm. 

Truro Civic Awards will see 17 recipients aged from eight to 93 rewarded for their efforts to make life better for everyone.  

The event is organised jointly by Truro City Council and Truro Old Cornwall Society, and co-ordinated by Paul Caruana. 

“We’ve received some fabulous nominations, and the age range of the recipients goes from eight to 93,” said Paul.  

Among the adult recipients, who have all been informed of their win, there are two couples – town crier Lionel Knight and wife Carol, for their contribution to city life – including financial contributions to the Christmas lights – and Truro in Bloom stalwarts Godfrey and Peggy Mortimore. 

Three groups have been honoured. The Police Special Constables are a team of seven who have given a collective 2,430 hours of service over the past year, while Truro Homeless Action Group has been providing food and shelter for homeless and vulnerable people in the city for 22 years.  

The Truro Old Boys were formed by retired army major Graham Humphrey and other local men who have been friends for many years. 

Since 2017, they have met bi-annually in the White Hart pub for fun and fundraising, with almost £20,000 being donated to local causes including Cornwall Air Ambulance, Man Down and the Screech Owl Sanctuary.   

Two members of the Royal British Legion Truro branch have been nominated: Anne Kemp, who masterminds the annual Poppy Appeal, and Alan Beattie, who organises the veterans’ breakfast club.  

Kelly Palmer is recognised for her volunteer work with Truro City Council’s Warm Welcome initiative, providing warm and safe community spaces for people to visit during the winter in order to reduce energy usage at home.  

Community stalwarts include Lesley Goodman and Helen Tiplady, both commended for their work in Malabar; Andrew Hall, whose work on the Penn an Dre estate in Highertown stretches from Christmas and Hallowe’en events to football and youth club activities; and John Rowe, whose fairy houses delight families visiting Coosebean Woods.  

Rosemary Ballard has been praised for her work with the Friends of Redannick House, arranging monthly activities for the elderly residents of the Cornwall care home, as well as fundraising for St Julia’s Hospice and the Samaritans.  

And Truro Day founder Pauline Westaway who, although she lives in Roche, is a Malabar girl and makes a 40-mile round trip to help with gardening at Sunny Corner between Truro and Malpas.  

The oldest award recipient at 93 is Friends of Sunny Corner mainstay Arthur Fitzgerald. “Despite his age, he’s there week in, week out, come hell or high water,” said Paul.  

“He talks to people, and a lot of folk go there just for that. He’s an inspiration to call of us to get off our backsides and do something.” 

Teenager Harry Stoddern has received an award for his litter-picking efforts, while the youngest recipient, an eight-year-old boy, has yet to be informed of his win and therefore can’t be named.  

The awards were launched in 2019 by Cllr Bob Smith during his tenure as city mayor. 

This is the only the second time they have been held, due to an enforced break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the hope is that this will become an annual event.  

They are now organised under the auspices of Truro Civic Society. Chairman Malcolm Bell said: “We are delighted to be involved. It’s important to recognise the people who do so much stuff for Truro, for the sake of doing stuff for Truro, and not because they are paid to do it – even more so in this era of public spending cuts.  

“We are all about civic pride, and these people help us achieve that goal of keeping Truro special. There is a wide range of people here, all of whom easily deserve to be recognised.  

“Anyone is welcome to come to the ceremony, and please start looking for those people you would like to nominate for next year’s awards.”