Prestigious award for long serving board member
A long serving volunteer co-operative board member in Shropshire has been recognised with a prestigious national award.
At the annual conference of the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) in Manchester, Steve Brown of Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin’s Just Credit Union was presented with the Kirit Patel Award for his ‘Outstanding Voluntary Contribution to Credit Unions’.
The award is presented annually in recognition of an individual’s long term volunteer contribution to the credit union movement.
Mr Brown said: “It was a huge honour to be nominated for this award – let alone win it. I believe it also recognises all the other people who have worked hard to make Just Credit Union the power for social change it is today.
“It has been a pleasure to work with some fantastic people, including staff board members and of course members themselves, and I would like to thank them all. I look forward to watching the credit union continue to thrive and prosper.”
Mr Brown, 69 from Shrewsbury, became involved with the not-for-profit co-operative from the very start, joining the steering group that set up Just Credit Union in the late 1990s.
When Just Credit Union launched in October 2001 he became a director and took on the role of treasurer.
Paul Norgrove, President of ABCUL who presented the award, commended Mr Brown’s 20-plus years of ‘outstanding voluntary contributions’ to Just Credit Union. He described him as the ‘backbone of the credit union’ since the early days.
Amy Jones, Just Credit Union’s Operations Manager, said: “Steve is a huge part of my credit union journey and his passion for the credit union helped develop mine when I started working for Just Credit Union aged 16.
“Steve is unassuming, self-deprecating and serious, but with a dry sense of humour and a heart of gold.”
Karen Farrow, Chief Officer of Just Credit Union, said: “This is fantastic recognition of Steve’s contribution and commitment to the credit union.
“He will be retiring from our board this year and his expertise, diligence and determination as a director and treasurer will be greatly missed.
“But mostly we will miss him personally as he is a pleasure to work alongside, being considerate and supportive of board colleagues and the staff team.
“He has always been a safe and secure pair of hands with a strong belief in the principles of the credit union.”
Karen added: “We do hope Steve will remain part of Just Credit Union and will enjoy having more time to pursue his other passions, including watching Shrewsbury Town FC.”
