Melksham Town Councillors were unanimous in paying tribute to the veritable army of community volunteers who stepped forward to support members of the communities in Melksham, Melksham Without and the surrounding area during the coronavirus pandemic – and continue to do so, as the work still goes on.
Speaking after an extraordinary meeting of Melksham Town Council on Tuesday 2nd September, during which councillor Pat Aves, the town mayor, led the tributes which were subsequently echoed by councillor Vanessa Fiorelli, leader of the council, and all fellow councillors.
“This was the major item on this town council meeting agenda”, cllr Aves explained. “It was important to be able to allocate a significant amount of time to this item and allow councillors opportunity to pay their own personal tributes to the incredible efforts of those who volunteered through Melksham Community Response, to support those needing assistance in our communities.
“Also, to thank and acknowledge those who worked independently, often supporting neighbours, on a street by street basis.”
Cllr Fiorelli echoed this sentiment and also acknowledged the work of the staff teams of Melksham Town Council and Melksham Without Parish Council who worked together, willingly contributing thousands of additional hours, on an entirely voluntary basis, seven days a week, for weeks on end, matching volunteers and users.
The work and technical skills of councillor Jon Hubbard in establishing Melksham Community Response so incredibly quickly, in response to the identified needs of the community, was also recognised as was his leadership of the operation through the lockdown period and beyond.
