Marsh Award Winners 2025

The Marsh Trust was established in 1981 by Brian Marsh OBE, and the Trust supports organisations and individuals who make a difference in the community around the country through grant giving and awards programmes. We have been in partnership with the Trust since 2013. It is because of the Marsh Trust’s generosity that we have been able to honour the hard work and commitment of some of those who have contributed to the success of their volunteering projects and their Societies. All our winners were nominated by their colleagues at their Society or Area.

We are delighted to announce the details of the recipients of the 2024 Marsh Awards. The awards were presented at the recent AGM. The winners are seen pictured with Arts Society President, Hilary Kay. 

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Gillian Waller​, The Arts Society Basingstoke nominated by Alison Granger

During Gillian’s tenure as Society Chairman, she has uplifted the volunteering from the Society.  She has worked tirelessly to promote Young Arts Volunteering and instigated many projects in Schools which culminated with exhibitions in the local Museum.  With tremendous personal energy, ambition and vison for these projects she has sought artists and volunteers to make these projects tremendous successes.  She has instigated and managed significant Arts Volunteering and continues to do so.

Maggie Williams from Glaven Valley nominated by Pauline Stewart

Maggie has been volunteering for Trials of Discovery for six years.   In this time Maggie has produced different trials including the neighbourhood trail around Blakeney which as a really successful trial and was advertised widely suing the local paper and poster with QR codes.   Maggie has gone on to create and entirely new type of trail in the Glaven Valley.  This trail gives the location and information relating to villages and places of interest I and around the Glaven Valley for people to explore at their leisure.  All the Trails advertise The Arts Society and Glaven Valley.

Robin Bailey from The Arts Society Worcester nominated by Maggie Keeble

Nominated by Maggie Keeble, Robin Bailey was one of the founding members of the Arts Society Worcester in 1987. At the time, there was a long waiting list for the nearest society in Malvern, so she and some friends decided to set up a society of their own in Worcester. Robin was teaching at the time at St Mary’s Convent, which is where the first meetings were held. She occupied a variety of different roles within the society including Chairperson and when she retired, was on the National Society’s Education Committee.

In more recent years, she was the lead for our Heritage Volunteers having become involved when Lord Cobham asked her to refurbish and catalogue the library at Hagley Hall at the same time as the Diocese of Birmingham bought a four-poster bed for Harvington Hall which required some hangings. This set her on the path to many projects over the years which came mostly by word of mouth. Predominant has been creating or conserving church paraments (vestments, alter frontals, alms bags etc). Prior to the Covid lockdown, a group of five led by Robin met on a regular basis to continue needlework and conservation projects meaning that she volunteered for the society for a period lasting over 30 years. Now frail and living in a care home, Robin would not be able to attend an awards ceremony but would be delighted to know her many years of volunteering were recognised and appreciated. 

Maggie Keeble from The Arts Society Worcester

Maggie was chairman for 5 years of the Arts Society Worcester until October 2024. She now is leading the Community Arts Volunteering.

She was an inspirational and dynamic chairman and steered TAS Worcester through COVID with zoom lectures and special days and areas of interest being offered on zoom.  The Society continues to offer hybrid lectures.

Maggie is now Worcester’s community lead, a role she embraces with huge enthusiasm and making many links with our wider community and charitable causes too.

Maggie led the” art at the station” campaign and recently led the imitative of raising £300 providing Art kits for children living in poverty via the food bank for the Easter holidays. This was so successful and has been repeated again for the summer holidays.

Maggie has forged links with other local /neighbouring Arts Societies whilst chairman and d we now have regular meetings to share ideas, trips, events and support each other.

Maggie organizes a variety trips and events and offers huge support to the TAS Worcester committee members

Peter Crowfoot from The Arts Society Grayshott

Peter has made an outstanding contribution to TAS Grayshott over the last ten years. For seven years he was an excellent and totally committed visits secretary and, as well as running four or five visits a year, ran several very successful annual tours in Europe and the U.K. He also played a very active part in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Area and set up a group for fellow Visits Secretaries organising meetings to share ideas and give support to others.

On retiring from his role as 'visits secretary', Peter stepped in temporarily to act as Chair when our existing Chair stepped down due to health concerns at the start of the pandemic. He worked tirelessly during this time, setting up online lectures very early on and regularly kept in touch with members offering his support. He also built-up connections with other 'local' societies, collaboratively setting up shared Virtual Tours which were extremely popular and much appreciated. He continued in this role for two years at the end of which time I took over as Chair.

Subsequently his support has been invaluable members of their committee.

In the Societies 40th Anniversary Peter has researched and created a fabulous display of archive materials detailing the progress and activities of the society over the years.

Roselyn Rees, The Arts Society Haslemere nominated by Madeline Boxall

Roselyn has been President of Haslemere Society for the last 16 years. The Arts Society Haslemere was formed in 1971 then of course HADFAS, and Roselyn joined the Society soon after. She has been a committee member, Chairman, and now President. During her time, she has, and still is overseeing our local volunteers many of whom volunteer at the Museum. She is a font of knowledge regarding the history of the Museum and in fact |Haslemere and although President plays a very active role in the Society and is a tremendous help to newcomers and new committee members despite being in her late 80s. Roselyn always attends all our functions and is excellent at standing up and praising the committee for all their hard work which is always appreciated. She has been involved with The Arts Society Haslemere for circa 50 years.  A truly worthy winner of a volunteering award.  

INTERNATIONAL AWARD

Helen Sijsling and the committee of Nerja nominated by Pamela Elder

The Society provides support for projects involving art and children. They have supported a primary school in a low-income neighbourhood with weekly Flamenco lessons for a group of 15 of children for the last three years. This population consists mainly of Romany people and recent immigrants, both affected by discrimination. Many of these children come from marginalised and fragmented families. These classes provide a fun, safe haven with their teacher as a positive role model, where they learn life skills with which they can shine on stage, at school, and in the theatre, and which are also useful in everyday life. They also learn many other skills like discipline, working together, and listening. Dancing is also a physical activity; it is uplifting and energizing. The flamenco dancers perform in front of parents and families of the whole school where 120 parents and family attended, and before one of our lectures in a real theatre where 150 people attended. During the summer, they perform in an open-air theatre in front of an audience of over 200 people. Performing gives the children self-confidence: it's not just about learning to dance, but about sharing, getting excited together and feeling part of something beautiful. Through flamenco art, the children develop confidence, body expression, and love for their culture. In addition, these classes strengthen ties between families, encourage teamwork, and enrich the sense of community in the local area.

They have organised a ‘Young Talent on Piano, Wind, or String Instruments’ competition for children aged between 6 and 18 years old for the last 3 years. 39 children participated the latest one. The venue and three members of the Jury (professional musicians) all provided their time for free. The Society organises all the marketing for the competition and provides money or voucher prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, as well as trophies. The mayor of Vélez Málaga hands out the prizes. Their aim is to give talented young people stage experience and an opportunity to shine on stage and compete with others from other schools in the province of Málaga. They are the only ones who organise a competition for children in this age bracket and who bring students of music together in this way. It represents an opportunity for young talent who are beginning to shine in music to play live on stage and perform works of different styles. It spreads music culture among new generations, and each participant must also include one work of a Spanish composer to stimulate the knowledge of Spanish culture. It is very enriching for everyone.

COMMITTEE AWARD

The Arts Society Ribble and Craven nominated by Iain Hulland

This Committee, Ribble and Craven comprises of Alan Jackson, Glenda Lees and Maureen King and they are the recipients because In each case they have been simply remarkable and epitomise what TAS is all about on this front. Yet their contribution is wider. At Society ‘level’, too TAS Ribble and Craven is a thriving Society - over-subscribed, active in every aspect of TAS work, creative and imaginative - in no small measure thanks to the ‘team ethos’ generated and supported by Glenda, Maureen and Alan.  They not only work together, cross-fertilising each others’ thinking, supporting each other’s actions to make our volunteering ‘rich’ but always see ‘the big picture’, never retreat into their ‘silos’ or limit the scope of what we as a committee. Indeed, they seek ways to expand it. They challenge is all to keep looking at what we can do. Together they have done immense honour to our local Society and to The Arts Society as a whole. 

HIGHLY COMMENDED 

Jenny Spicer from The Arts Society Marlow nominated by Mina Gouran

For her involvement since being a founder of this society 24 years ago. Jenny has focused on Membership, website, publicity, newsletters and social media.  Jenny is described as friendly, most helpful, popular with the membership and uniquely unassuming. Her focus is helping and getting things done well rather than ego.  

Stephanie Raynard from The Arts Society Harpenden nominated by Liz Warriner

In  2022 Stephanie,  initiated a very successful and productive project to revive the memory of a famous  local artist, Sir Francis O Salisbury, a prolific painter and stained glass maker, whose work hangs in national collections and prominent locations such as the houses of parliament and the White House, and who painted portraits of royalty, politicians and famous people in the UK and America as well as documenting key national events including the coronation of King George VI and the tomb of the unknown soldier. The inspiration for this came from one of our members, Angela Glyn Davies, who is his great niece, and owns a beautiful portrait of her grandmother which Salisbury painted in 1905 just before he became famous.

Stephanie has led an enthusiastic team drawn from a number of local societies, contacting galleries and museums and collating an index of his works that are not always on public display and producing a heritage trail in his birthplace, where he lived for many years and is buried in the churchyard of St Nicholas, which houses a large mural that he painted.

To raise awareness of his work, she has developed exhibits for local events and presented entertaining talks to many local groups, including the local history society which was involved in the research and has planned work with schools to integrate with their A level curricula.

Congratulations to all those that received an award this year.