Pensioner of the Year

Last year’s winner, Maisie Crawford passed the title to a surprised and delighted Mildred Garfield on Thursday night.

Nominated by community worker Linda Watson, Mildred said she was convinced she had not won when she saw the high standard of nominees: “When we went up to the Age Concern building on Thursday night and I saw Danny Feeney, who is in the Harmony Singers and who does so much voluntary work, and all the other people who were in for the award, I assumed Danny would get it because he does so much work around the various homes and all those other people do so much for people and deserve the award as well.”

Mildred said it was a shock to hear her name called out.

Currently also serving as the City’s Woman of the Year, Mildred acknowledged that it is a rare thing to hold both titles at the same time.

“It is very nice to get the recognition. You don’t do what you do to get recognised, you do it because you want to do it. I have always been community minded and active in the community, but it is because of that that I have got the awards. When you see what you do is helping people then that makes you stronger.”

Mildred has held many officers in her time, from dinner lady to Mayor of Londonderry: “When I started out as a dinner lady it was because I had to work. The children clung to you and told you things that they would not tell their mother, so you were able to say to the parent or you kept an eye out for the child.

“The tables have turned right round now, with my involvement in the Luncheon Club, serving lunch three days a week to almost 55 pensioners from a small kitchen. But you can only do things like that when you have good volunteers, and some of ours are volunteers themselves,” said Mildred.

Saying she was “delighted” to have won the title, Mildred said she wanted to thank everyone at Caw-Nelson Drive, and particularly Linda Watson, the people in the luncheon club and everyone else who had made it possible for her to receive the nomination to Pensioner of the Year.

“It is because of these people that you do the work you do. I know I would not be here without their support,”she said.