KINGSBRIDGE’s Citizen of the Year 2016, Phyllis Angliss, was presented with a framed panoramic photograph of Kingsbridge by the town mayor this week.

Mayor Wayne Grills said: ‘Phyllis is so incredibly community-spirited she really is an inspiration to us all. She is an outstanding recipient of the Kingsbridge Citizen of the Year Award for 2016.’

When Phyllis accepted the award, she said: ‘I thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke, as that was the day it was announced in the Gazette!’

Phyllis is the 13th person to receive the award, which the council say recognises the ‘outstanding contribution of the work of people in the local community’.

Recently, Phyllis created local history by becoming the first female member of Kingsbridge Rotary Club, later becoming its first female president.

Her work with the rotary club has seen her launch herself out of an aeroplane to raise money for the Rotary Youth Leader Award, alongside the Memory Café and Sensory Garden in the Recreation Ground - projects she supported after her mother suffered with Alzheimer’s disease. That year she raised over £2,000 for her chosen projects.

Approximately 27 years ago, she became involved with the South Hams Talking Newspapers for the blind and partially sighted, and for the last 25 years she has been its secretary and co-ordinator.

She gives all the praise to her volunteers though, ‘I don’t know what I would do without them’ she said.

Some have been there since the 1980s, specifically Nicola Fox – ‘if you ask her for help with something, its done, she’s wonderful’ – and Edward Noyce, who has ‘helped from nearly the very beginning’.

This charity supports approximately 160 blind or partially sighted people in Kingsbridge, Salcombe, Dartmouth and Ivybridge. She has set high standards in the recording of her work and her efforts have been gratefully acknowledged by the membership over the years. She maintains the rotas for the technicians and readers and supervises the multi-copying of tapes.

She is in regular contact with her listeners and her concern for their welfare goes well beyond that of just being the co-ordinator with visits to the more vulnerable and makes representations on their behalf with statutory organisations when the need arises.

In addition to the Talking Newspapers, Phyllis also organises a weekly Talking Magazine completely on her own. She is assiduous in her research and produces a varied and most interesting magazine for the members, much of which is copied elsewhere by other Talking Newspaper organisations.

Phyllis has also been involved with Kingsbridge Amateur Theatrical Society over the years. Her most famous outing was singing – she calls it ‘speaking to music’ – a piece from ‘Oh! What a Lovely War’, wearing nothing but tights and a navy blue army jacket!

All her volunteering takes up a lot of time each week – to do this week in, week out, requires absolute dedication, total commitment and huge reserves of energy. The Talking Newspapers is now fully digitalised, which Phyllis is embracing with her usual enthusiasm and knowledge.

If you can help Phyllis out with Talking Newspapers, especially with recording, please call her on 07967 118530.