A Little Gem, Who could that be?
 
Some of you reading this article may remember Iced Gems, others may remember Midget Gems, or that a “Little Gem” is a type of Lettuce. This article is about a member of our Order who has been called a “Little Gem”, read on!!
 
During early October Garstang Town Council held a virtual Awards Ceremony to celebrate the amazing work and contributions of a range of nominees across 8 different categories with one special commendation. This year the Town Council Awards received 80 nominations.
 
The Awards Ceremony was live streamed onto the Council’s Facebook page,
Now we come to the big moment!!
The final award is “The Mayors Award”, awarded at the discretion of Garstang's Mayor Cllr Elizabeth Webster...
“Well this was a very hard decision, as you have heard tonight there are so many people and groups within our community that all do such wonderful work, some very well known within our community and some are hidden little gems!  After much thought the mayors award is going to a gentleman who has worked years at the local firm, Towers and Gornall for 57 years.”
 
She first found out about who she called a kind and caring gentleman after being invited to one of his infamous fundraising bashes within weeks of becoming mayor.
 
As Mayor during the evening she was invited get up and say a few words and to her surprise, received a cheque for £250 to get the Mayor Charity fundraising started. Later she discovered what this unsung hero actually did for the community. The person in question is William Richmond. Since his 61st birthday William has been organising in January, a sausage and mash bash and summer BBQ at Garstang Masonic Hall (Wyrebank) with all funds raised for the local community. During that time William or Bill as he's affectionately known as has raised over £30,000 for local charities in the area and sold just over 9 ton’s of his famous sausages. He's given hundreds and thousands away to local causes such as North West Air Ambulance, cancer charities, Garstang sports club and Team ShazzAnn just to name a few.  
 
 
Garstang's Mayor Cllr Elizabeth Webster.  “Our Little Gem”
In closing the Mayor said to William “Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity Bill. I hope your events reconvene very soon! Well done William! You’re a Little Gem!”
 
Report by our Local Correspondent, photos courtesy of a “Towers and Gornall” staff member.