Horley in Bloom Awards Ceremony and Town Award Presentation
Horley in Bloom Awards Ceremony and Town Award Presentation
On Friday, 29 September 2023, Horley Town Council held its annual Awards Ceremony for the Horley in Bloom and Photographic Competitions, along with the Horley Carnival parade winners, held earlier in the summer.
During his address, Horley Town Mayor, Cllr Martin Saunders said he was delighted to be joined by Borough Mayor, Cllr Eddy Humphreys to present the trophies, certificates and prizes to all the winners (details available to view here) and he congratulated everyone who participated in the competitions with all their wonderful entries.
The Horley in Bloom Committee members were delighted to see such high attendance by winners and their families, along with councilllors, staff, residents and visitors in the delightful venue at Horley Baptist Church. We were very fortunate to have, yet again, Cllr Mike George as compère for the evening which he carried out with excellence and much dedication like in his other roles as Horley in Bloom Committee Chairman and Horley Carnival Chairman.
During the proceedings, a prestigious Town Award was also presented to former Borough and Town Councillor, Simon Marshall for 42 years of dedicated service to local residents and helping to shape Horley as it is today. Simon also served as Borough Deputy Mayor and was elected Chairman and Town Mayor for five consecutive years from 2007. These awards are open to any nominated individual considered to have given exceptional service and commitment to the Horley community for which Simon is undoubtedly a very worthy recipient. On receiving his award, Simon said:
“I am thoroughly delighted to receive this prestigious Town Award. It has been a privilege to serve Horley residents in my various roles of public office, especially as Leisure Chairman at the Town Council and to be able to introduce more improvements to local parks and open spaces with many new facilities and infrastructure, including at Horley Recreation Ground. My sincere thanks to all the councillors and staff for supporting me throughout this time.”
When invited to say a few words, Cllr Humphreys said he was delighted to be able to visit Horley and could clearly see a strong sense of community cohesion that is reinforced through such popular, social events like Horley in Bloom.
In concluding the ceremony, Cllr George extended a sincere note of thanks to everyone involved in helping to organise the event and commented that “these events could not happen without a considerable amount of work behind the scenes to make it all possible”. He thanked everyone present for attending and invited them to enjoy the hospitality provided by the Town Council.
Above: Simon Marshall & Reigate & Banstead Mayor, Cllr Eddy Humphreys
Below: Horley Town Mayor, Martin Saunders, Simon Marshall and Reigate & Banstead Mayor, Cllr Eddy Humphreys
ENDS
