Raymond is the life and soul of goodness in Burnham. We had an enormous amount of nominations for him. Here are just a few excerpts; the first came from his daughter Alison. ‘My dad has been a volunteer on the RNLI for nearly 20 years. He will do anything for anyone. His nickname is “NO PROBS RAY” as he won’t say no to anybody. He has helped to run a mother and toddler group for nearly 8 years at one of thelocal churches. As a church elder he is forever helping out other members, taking them to hospital appointments or with any odd jobs the older congregation can’t do. In his spare time he teaches people to drive, not for money just for love. He must have got at least 80 people from Burnham through their driving tests. Over the years he has helped steward many local events. He has been Father Christmas at local schools and nurseries plus many other events. He does so much for everyone and not to mention all he does for his family 

Charlie Renwick said, ‘I was a nipper and couldn’t afford driving lessons. Ray  spent many hours kindly teaching me with a calm and collected attitude. Taking me   to the test centre and me passing. I wouldn’t be where I am today without Ray’.

Martin, Lesley & Thomas Yates. Wrote. ‘He really is an amazing man. His help for the community is not short of outstanding. He is kind, supportive, generous and  just the sort of person that the world needs more of’.

Robert and Jenni Blunden said, ‘His time is given freely and easily and it is  impossible not to warm to him instantly’.

Cllr Fiona Clegg wrote, ‘He is a wonderful and generous individual who always has a smile on his face and makes everyone around him feel special.’

The last word comes from Avril Goodridge. ‘Burnham is a happier place with this  happy smiling gentleman around. He deserves many medals.’ 

Linda has dedicated herself as chair of The Lady Taverners South Essex Region for the last  thirteen years. It’s a wholly voluntary role, which requires unlimited energy.  The Lady Taverners is the fundraising arm of the Lords Taverners charitable organization. When initially taking on the role Linda’s dream was to have one of the iconic Lords Taverners’ Minibuses within every Special School in Essex.  Thirteen years later, supported by her dedicated committee, Linda has not only raised the funding for, and provided fifteen minibuses to deserving schools, but     has just been awarded two additional vehicles.
In addition, Linda has also raised funding for five Sensory Rooms, two

Sensory Gardens and five Sports Wheelchairs for physically disabled students.  In Linda’s ‘spare time’ she supports a school for visually impaired children and has raised over £10,000 to enable the purchase of 2 Braille Note-Pads for the students.

 In Linda’s words,  ‘With the help of my Committee I hope we have made some positive changes to  the lives of the Essex children we have supported’