General News
20 October, 2023
“It was a lovely surprise”
PURRUMBETE residents Ian ‘Bidge’ Boyd and his partner Barb Boyd were awarded with the Alan J Holding Memorial Community Service Award by the Camperdown Lions Club last Thursday.
PURRUMBETE residents Ian ‘Bidge’ Boyd and his partner Barb Boyd were awarded with the Alan J Holding Memorial Community Service Award by the Camperdown Lions Club last Thursday.
The award was presented for the pair’s work within the community, including the annual Good Friday Music by the Lake event at Lake Purrumbete.
Money raised from Music by the Lake currently totals just under $50,000.
The community service award is devoted to Alan Holding, a previous Skipton member who originally instigated the award during his time as district governor.
Bidge had a long connection with the Tamworth Country Music Festival, where he had been previously awarded with the Peel Valley Lions Club Community Award in 2011.
His passion for music led to the beginning of the Good Friday event in 2011, and later the Morning Melodies in 2019.
Through the entrance fee to Morning Melodies, the pair have fundraised for a variety of causes, including motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, Gotcha 4 Life, children’s cancer and the Tobias Family appeal.
Barb has also been a prominent part of the community, serving as a regular volunteer and committee member of the Camperdown Hospital Trolley.
She was also heavily involved with Cancer Council after a personal experience with the disease, being involved with Relay for Life and organizing a Biggest Morning Tea in Weerite.
Bidge and Barb both serve as long-term members of the Weerite Community Fire Brigade and the Weerite Hall committee of management.
Bidge expressed his joy in receiving the recognition.
“We got a surprise, and we’re very grateful for it,” he said.
Barb said the award was “lovely to receive”.
“It was a lovely surprise,” she said.
“We’ve been doing the Good Friday Appeal for quite a while, and there’s a lot of people who help us put that together as well.
“Lots of people help us along the way; it’s not just us, it’s quite a few people that put it together.”