Local community celebrated at Council ceremony

A Retired Squadron Leader, a charitable couple, an award-winning radiographer, a local businessman and someone who helped out residents following the January 2005 floods were the winners of last night’s (Thursday, 6 March) Carlisle City Council Civic Awards presentation.

The awards have been the highlight of the Civic Dinner since 2002 and this year’s winners were:

Retired Squadron Leader Tony Parrini received an MBE in 2007 for his services to the community, helping the Royal British Legion, the RAF Association and the Christian Ecumenical Movement. He is also soon to be the Rotary Club’s district governor, serving as leader of all 75 Rotary Clubs in Cumbria and Lancashire. In addition to his Rotary interests, he raised £15,000 to build the Far East Air Force Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum.

From left to right: The Mayor of Carlisle, Cllr Mrs Elizabeth Mallinson; Retired Squadron Leader Tony Parrini and Leader of Carlisle City Council, Cllr Mike Mitchelson

John Nixon is a local businessman who led a Carlisle factory into an unprecedented era as a world class tyre manufacturer, overseeing several key developments to secure its long-term future - he was instrumental in turning Pirelli, Carlisle into a centre of excellence. Now Managing Director of Carlisle United, he is also Co-Chair of the Carlisle Partnership Economic Development and Enterprise Group as well as past President of Carlisle South Rotary Club.

From left to right: The Mayor of Carlisle, Cllr Mrs Elizabeth Mallinson; Leader of Carlisle City Council, Cllr Mike Mitchelson and Trevor Hebdon (who picked up John Nixon's award on his behalf)

Gail Jefferson was voted North West Radiographer of the Year. She has been involved in the forensic identity of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing, the deaths of the Morecambe Bay cockle pickers and the July 7 London tube and bus explosions. She works at the Cumberland Infirmary and lectures at St Martin’s College, Lancaster.

From left to right: The Mayor of Carlisle, Cllr Mrs Elizabeth Mallinson; Gail Jefferson and Leader of Carlisle City Council, Cllr Mike Mitchelson

Major Mel Robinson provided much needed support to local residents following the January 2005 floods in Carlisle as President of Churches Together, in Carlisle. He, along with other members of the Carlisle Temple Corp Salvation Army, has also provided help and assistance to a Romanian orphanage in Bucharest for the past 15 years. In October last year, they also took toys, new beds and donated bedding, clothing and computers to stricken residents of Ticuch, Romania which suffered from flooding earlier in the year.

John and Joyce Hine were the final award winners are a local Carlisle couple who were honoured for their combined 95 years of voluntary service. Both are members of the Carlisle fundraising branch of the county-wide organisation Cerebral Palsy Association and one is also a member of the support workers action committee. The Cerebral Palsy Association helps more than 200 individuals with cerebral palsy and provides information and support to family, friends and carers.

From left to right:John Hine; The Mayor of Carlisle, Cllr Mrs Elizabeth Mallinson; Joyce Hine and Leader of Carlisle City Council, Cllr Mike Mitchelson

Leader of the Council, Cllr Mike Mitchelson said:

"We established the Carlisle Civic Awards in 2002 as a way of recognising some of the outstanding contributions that some of our citizens of Carlisle have made. The awards reflect the drive and determination of people within our local communities.

"I’d like to pass on my congratulations to all the winners and thank them all for their contribution to Carlisle and all who live and work here."

This is the seventh year the Council has presented the Civic Awards. The event was held at The Shepherds Inn, Carlisle.

Photographs courtesy of www.sjstudios.co.uk