Pair honoured by Rotary Club (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Pair honoured by Rotary Club

2:28pm Monday 22nd September 2008 in

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OUTSTANDING records of service to the community by two local women was saluted by members of Bishop's Waltham Rotary Club.

Jan Dunford, from Upham, and Diana Underwood, from Bishop's Waltham, were jointly awarded the club's Community Service Awards for 2008.

Rotary club president, Pete Yeoman, said both ladies richly deserved the recognition for their unstinting service to others.

Mrs Underwood's nomination described her as "one of the unsung heroes, working quietly behind the scenes seeking neither recognition nor thanks for what she does on behalf of others."

Nevertheless the limelight has truly sought her out this year. As well as this Rotary Award, she recently, and belatedly, received her WWII Women's Land Army and Timber Corps Veteran's Badge, together with a certificate signed by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Having been a Girl Guide in her school days, Mrs Underwood later became a guider in Bishop's Waltham and was eventually District Commissioner for the area. She has been a parish councillor for over 30 years and a governor of the local junior and infant schools. As a trustee of Bishops Waltham Youth Hall she served as chairman and now vice-chair.

She is currently a member of a small group working towards providing a new youth centre within the parish.

Referring to Mrs Dunford's nomination, Mr Yeoman said: "She is known and respected throughout the village. Her involvement in everything is done without fuss and without drawing attention to herself."

During her 30 years in Upham, as a member of the parochial church council, Mrs Dunford has organised summer fetes, harvest suppers and the churches Hackney Link. She helps provide social life for the elderly by arranging meetings and holiday trips for the Eventide Club. She also serves on the parish council and the pavilion sub-committee, and is a member of Upham Care Group.

The Rotarians warmly applauded these two ladies, who, they said, personified one of Rotary's basic themes "Service Before Self".