WINNER RECEIVES BRIGG TOWN AWARD FOR PUBLIC VOLUNTARY SERVICE

He's had to wait some time to receive his coveted Brigg trophy, but Keith Simpson now holds the annual award for public voluntary service during 2020.
A local lay reader, Keith received the Joseph J. Magrath Trophy - named after a long-serving former Town Clerk - during Brigg Town Council's annual meeting, held on Tuesday (May 25).
Brigg has been without a vicar for 16 months since Father Owain Mitchell left St John's Church to take up a new appointment in the Peak District.
But Keith continues to assist the parish in many ways, including taking a central role in the Remembrance Sunday commemorations in November at the Monument war memorial and also late January's Holocaust Memorial Service. He is also the Town Mayor's Chaplain, leading prayers before the meetings and carrying out other duties to assist the town's first citizen.
Keith was selected to receive the Magrath Award by Brigg Town Council during its January meeting, having been nominated by Coun Rob Waltham.
This trophy is usually presented to the winner during the annual Brigg Civic Dinner - a formal function held in March - but Coronavirus emergency lockdown restrictions ruled this out.

 

 

Addressing councillors on Tuesday night, Keith thanked them for the honour.
Joseph J. Magrath, who came to Brigg to work in local government in the 1930s, was the Clerk and Chief Executive Officer to Brigg Urban District Council until his retirement in the early 1970s, and went on to become the first Clerk to Brigg Town Council after its formation, serving into the 1980s.
Joe - widely known as 'Mr Brigg' - received the OBE towards the end of his lengthy career and was a national figure in campaigns for improved road safety and accident prevention across the UK.

PICTURED: Top - Keith Simpson with the Magrath Award; centre - with Coun Sharon Riggall on Tuesday night just prior to her term as Brigg Town Mayor coming to an end. Below - Keith on Remembrance Sunday 2020 at the Monument (image courtesy of Ken Harrison, Brigg Matters magazine).