Connecting our Community Working Together – Part Four

by Lee Quinn

Firstly, a big thank you from Eden Local and Eden FM. I’ve talked over the last few months about connecting with the community and following the experience of helping out behind the scenes in organising advertisers and sponsors for the May Day programme, the uptake was fantastic and greatly appreciated. Our appreciation to those contributing as advertisers and sponsors, who I have been in touch with since the last Eden Local with a personal thank you.

There’s a lot of things I’ll remember - one was just before the May Day celebrations when I was out with one of the Lions helping sell programmes as part of the tradition of every May Day. There was a lady in Mayburgh Avenue on Wetheriggs, just a few streets away from my own home. As I knocked on the door, she said, ‘I was expecting you! I thought you weren’t coming!’ And that is tradition and appreciation of something that’s been happening since 1981.

With delays throughout the process, that was affected by not just those associated with restarting an event after a three-year break, but also COVID, resources and of course the changes in the council administration for Penrith, that affected important assessment and documents, health and Safety, road closures, a shortage in volunteers, and a pull on public sector as well as voluntary sector resources. Let’s just say there was a lot of paperwork!

I attended a meeting with the Penrith Lions Club members soon after May Day on 9th May in the George Hotel. It was top to tail assessment of the event. I’ll come back to that on another occasion, because this piece is about connecting people and organisations, and that was achieved across a town and district and further afield by the Lions and their associates.

A personal thank to the following for supporting the event, the May Day programme and the four key sponsors of the Event, the Programme and marketing materials:

Perennial Process/Quinn HR - ConservClean

- Ultimate Exterior Protection - Penrith Town Council - Housing 21 - Cranstons - The Arches

Carpet Flooring and Bed Centre - Cumbria Oak (Sponsor) - The Pot Place (Sponsor) - Cowpers

Chemist - Howe Clean - Dodd & Co - Richardson and Son Timber - O2 Communications PlusPenrith Building Society (Sponsor) - Saint-Gobain (Sponsor) - The George Hotel - ASAP Accountancy

- 4 Eden - Gianni’s Restaurant – The Roundthorn Country Hotel - Hospice at Home - Arragans Cycles

- Eland & Bell - Just Greek Takeaway - Penrith Town News - CAfs – The Window Doctor - Marshalls Conservatory Conversions.

At the meeting I mentioned above, I presented the plan for what Eden FM and Cumbrian Local Publications can do in 2024. For now, having connected all of these local businesses and organisations together, to get one huge signature event back up and running, they have already been in contact with regards to May 6th 2024.

Key to helping fund this event, a big thank goes to the Penrith BID, Penrith Lottery, Penrith Town Council and what was formerly known as Eden District Council.