HEARTFELT tributes and a round of applause have been paid to three stalwarts of Haddington and District Community Council.
Former long-standing chairwoman Jan Wilson, Fiona-Frances Adam and minute secretary Anna Faulkner have opted to step down ahead of next month’s county-wide community council elections.
The trio have more than 60 years’ experience with the group between them, with Mrs Wilson describing it as “a privilege” to have represented the town’s community council
Chris McEwan, the group’s current chairman, led the kind words at the community council meeting last week.Mr McEwan said: “I would like to say a very, very large thank you to Jan, Fiona-Frances and Anna, who have decided not to continue after this meeting.“Jan has been Mrs Haddington for God knows how many years and the centre of everything this community council has done for many, many years. We thank her for everything and for the town.“Fiona-Frances has been a member for 18 years, a long time, and Anna has been minute secretary for almost 20 years.
“Between the three of them, there have been many decades of wonderful service.”Councillor Tom Trotter represents the town on East Lothian Council and attends the monthly community council meetings.However, he was previously vice-chairman of the community council and described the group as “an active one”.He said: “I want to add my own personal thanks.“I’ve enjoyed working with Jan, Fiona-Frances and Anna and I want to thank them for their services.“They have been stalwarts of the community council for a long, long time and, whatever they go on to, I want to wish them the best for the future.”Mrs Wilson stepped down as the group’s chairwoman last year after nearly 25 years in the role.During that time, much has changed in the town, with hundreds of new houses being built.She told the virtual meeting: “I will miss it, without a doubt, but my health is not as good as it was and I have got to take things a bit easier.
“Having said that, I have met so many wonderful people over the last 27 years.“If you want to get to know about Haddington, the best way to do it is to join the community council.”Mrs Faulkner told members she had previously considered stepping down more than five years ago but opted to continue.But she felt the time had come to take a step back and thanked her colleagues for the flowers she had received as a token of appreciation for her efforts over the years.Fiona-Frances also thanked members for their kind words and said she was not well enough to carry on.She said: “It is about time I withdrew and had a little bit of complete retirement, although I don’t think I will enjoy it as much as being in the community council.“Thank you everybody.