Wick community council volunteers praised for ‘can do, will do’ attitude
Community councillors in Wick have been told they should be proud of their “can do, will do” approach to volunteering.
Outgoing chairman Allan Farquhar described their commitment as “tremendous” ahead of the annual general meeting of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council (RBWCC) this week.
Allan Bruce, who had been vice-chairman, was elected as Mr Farquhar’s successor.
Highlighting the range of projects and subgroup activities supported by RBWCC members, Mr Farquhar praised their efforts while taking a swipe at online critics.
“Everybody around the table has done more than their fair share and it’s very disheartening when we see remarks from keyboard warriors on social media,” Mr Farquhar said.
“Folk around this table are definitely a case of ‘can do, will do and have done’. A lot of hard work is put in behind the scenes by everybody and we should be very proud, not just of ourselves but other organisations that feed off us.”
As an example, Mr Farquhar highlighted Wick’s contribution to the annual Spring Clean Scotland campaign, which he said “has really taken off”.
A total of 480 people – most of them children – took part in this year’s springtime litter-picking events in and around the town, collecting more than 260 black bags of rubbish along with some larger items.
Mr Farquhar added that there was always a need for more volunteers to join in with community council projects.
He said: “I would like them to get off their keyboards and come out and give us a hand. I’d really appreciate it.”
Mr Farquhar, who had served as chairman for two years, was elected to the role of treasurer at Monday’s AGM, replacing Joanna Coghill who is now vice-chair.
Newly elected chairman Allan Bruce, referring to Mr Farquhar’s own voluntary commitments, told him: “God knows how you managed to juggle it all!”
Secretarial duties will be shared by Mr Bruce, Mrs Coghill and Mr Farquhar.
Mr Bruce said: “I think the three of us work well together in the secretary’s role and we can hopefully have an extended conversation in the not-too-distant future about how we divvy up that going forward.”
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