Town medal for club activities organiser

IT was a special moment for Libby Meachin when she was presented with the Henley town medal.

Mrs Meachin, 82, of Harpsden Road, received the accolade from Mayor Rory Hunt during a ceremony at the town hall, surrounded by family, friends and fellow volunteers on Wednesday last week.

A retired physiotherapist, Mrs Meachin has been an integral part of the Meteor Club for more than two decades, organising weekly activities for individuals with special needs.

The club, which meets every Thursday, offers a range of social events and activities for people with special needs.

Mrs Meachin said: “When I found out I was very excited, and I felt it was a huge honour. But I have to emphasise that the medal is for the whole club, because we have achieved it. Without the members coming every week, it wouldn’t work. It is a privilege to be with them.”

Reflecting on her journey with the club, Mrs Meachin recounted how it all began. “More than 20 years ago, the person who was organising the programme at the time, asked me to host a barbecue in my garden,” she said.

“I enjoyed it so much that I started joining in regularly and eventually took on organising the programme.”

Mrs Meachin said the club was the best to work in. “I have never heard any unpleasantness. We all do different activities, and the members are so supportive of each other and they are all very nice people.

“I am quite proud of Henley because the members all say that they are treated well and with respect.

“I can’t call it work, we just planned social events on a Thursday evening. Everybody says that they get out of it more than they put in, because the members are such nice people, and they give more than they take.

“I think the biggest thing is their capacity for enjoyment, it is enormous.”

Mrs Meachin said volunteering with the club and spending time with its members has helped her enjoy it more.

She said: “It has been a very important thing in my life and helps me. Every volunteer will say that. The club really embraced Zoom during the covid lockdown, we used to have 25 joining in on a Thursday evening.

“Their families or their support workers, they all got the hang of it really well. We had requests to listen to music.

“It was quite amazing how they embraced technology during lockdown. All our members are very vocal and willing to communicate, it was great.”

Having stepped back from her organisational role a few months ago, Mrs Meachin praised the club’s new leader, Marie Byrne. She said: “Marie is bringing in younger volunteers and delegating, ensuring the club continues to thrive.”

She moved to Henley in 1975 with her husband Stan and their four children, Rosie, Alistair, Julian and Christopher, having been brought up in the Wirral in Cheshire and then living in California.

Mrs Meachin said: “The club has given me more understanding that everybody has something to offer. People may not look as though they have or appear to, but they have an awful lot to offer.”

She said the most rewarding part of her time with the club was the friendships she built along the way, and said that she will still attend the meetings.

She said: “It is fun, not work. Anybody at all who’s interested is welcome to come if they know anybody who would benefit from more social contact, either as a volunteer or as a person with special needs.”

Councillor Hunt spoke about Mrs Meachin’s contribution to the town. He said: “We are all very lucky here that we live in a town that values community so much, we have so many wonderful organisations and the town medal is there to recognise exceptional service.

“I emphasise that word ‘exceptional’. Many people give their time, not everyone gets a medal. To get the medal you need at least 10 years’ service.

“It is not just about time, it is about quality of that service; it is quite deliberately kept hard to get. But here tonight we have a quite brilliant recipient, someone who has done wonders for the town, serving for many years to those in need of it most.”

Mrs Meachin was nominated for the medal by her long-time friend Anne Sandars.

l The town medal is made from gilding metal with a gilt finish from a specially manufactured corded royal blue collarette.