As I left the Shop and locked the door for the last time, it was with very mixed emotions.
Looking back over the last 13 years, it’s been an incredible journey from starting out with little knowledge on how to run a business, but with a group of young men whose enthusiasm and determination to make it work spurred me on.
During the following years, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with so many amazing people who have shown how, given the right environment, anyone can make a positive contribution to the local community, developing their own skills and building their own self-confidence
It is not just our volunteers who have benefited from this experience; our customers and those who have donated have played a vital role in ensuring this little community business continues to provide a valuable service.
For those who have spent a length of time with us, the feeling is that we are family. And as a family, we experience highs with relationships blossoming, children being born and seeing many move on to achieve their goals in the wider world and more difficult times when death has taken members from us. But their memories live on in our history, and they help shape us to where we are now.
For both Volunteers and customers, the spirit of Community Recycle Cycles will stay as it always has, to provide first-class service no matter what your budget, and I hope you will continue to support the team as they move into the next stage of development of the business.
I will remain a role behind the scenes, working with the other Directors, Audrey and Andy, but I know that the time is right to let the fantastic team of volunteers take the reins and develop new ideas to meet the requirements of our society today.
Thank you for enabling me to have had such a fantastic opportunity to make wonderful memories and to see at first hand that our community can make a difference to so many people.
Community Recycle Cycles helps people make positive changes in their lives, one bicycle at a time.
During our Christmas meal as a team, we gave Annette some presents to celebrate her retirement.
