Thursday night saw Beith Community Association host their annual Citizen of The Year Ceremony.

In a packed hall. this year’s winner Rae Hutchinson was presented with the trophy and the prize of £100.

Rae has decided to donate her prize money to Beith Cultural and Heritage Society for the fantastic work they do in maintaining the Townhouse and of course their fabulous exhibitions they put on all year round.

Tom Hart spoke highly about Rae’s contribution and commitment to the town over the years. Notably Rae being a founding member of the Beith Thrift shop where see can still be found regularly volunteering today, she has also been involved in the towns Christian Action Group, Beith Cultural and Heritage Society, the Rural and the Lights and Laughter committee, amongst others.

This year also was the first year that the Association had awarded runners up with awards. The Silver Award winners were: Fiona Donnelly and Helen McNaughton, while Bronze Awards were given to Avril Waldron and Winnie Buckley.

Mr Dickie, Treasurer of BCA, said, “ The BCA committee felt that given the quality and number of nominations we received this year, then it was right to introduce runners up prizes this year, to allow more people to be recognised for their fantastic contributions they make to the town.”

Mr Dickie thanked everyone for coming and spoke of how pleased the Association were with the support that was shown for this year’s event.

He hinted that this year’s expansion may not be the only change in future years, with plans already being worked on for next future years.

Cllr Donald L Reid said: “Beith Community Association have to be congratulated for organising this event to acknowledge the great work of so many community volunteers. Recognising a range of people is a great step forward. Having spoken to all the award recipients I know that they really appreciated getting this recognition for work they enjoy doing.

"Thanks to Beith Community Association for all their hard work.”

James Robson, Chairperson of BCA said: “We are delighted with support the community has shown to this year’s Citizen of the Year competition.

"Beith is full of wonderful people who dedicate a tremendous amount of time to improving our community."