Citation for 2025 Member of the Year Award for Brenda Milton
The Penelope Everett Award went to Brenda Milton for her diligent work on behalf of the Area and Woodley Flower club. The following citation was read by Shirley Sexton and the award presented by Pat Dibben:
Brenda has been an active member of Woodley Flower Club for many years. Brenda. I have known Brenda for a long time both as a friend and a member of Woodley flower club. In spite of taking over her area duties, she is a most dedicated and valued member of the club, her club as she calls it. She has in her time done most of the officer’s jobs within the committee, having been chairman twice and at present, our secretary as well as the areas. Brenda is a great asset to the club and with her organisational skills, she works wonders organising trips and various fundraising events. She always takes over when she sees a spot where she is needed and always goes that extra mile.
Brenda is an excellent flower arranger. At the 2022 flower festival at the Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel, she led the Woodley team in staging not one, but two, significant designs: ‘Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire’ and ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’, both of which attracted large crowds eager to appreciate the cosy fireplace and tempting table designs decked with masses of traditional arrangements.
In early 2020, just as COVID was starting, Brenda stepped into the role of Area Secretary. She has undertaken this role with courage and hard work, despite not being able to follow recent practices – due partly to COVID and partly to the ever-increasing move to digital ways of working. The Area is delighted that Brenda shows no signs of giving up on this role after five years.
In 2024 Brenda took on the additional role of Area Flower Arranger Rep, which she has tackled with her usual determination to get things done in her own way.
In 2025 she excelled. In addition to being Area Secretary and Area Flower Arranger Rep she organised morning and lunchtime refreshments for >100 people at both the mock and real demonstrators tests, and for 30 people at the Competing Workshop. She then offered to do all the catering for the ‘Thank You for the Flowers’ Area Day. She achieved appropriate catering certification that allowed her to provide lunch for 60 people, accepting very little help from others. This was a challenge which she met with her usual grit and determination to deliver. The food proved so popular that it was decided to do something similar for the Area Anniversary lunch. More help was accepted this time from other Area Officers, but Brenda took the lead, managing the kitchen, providing food and organising table layouts and service.
We believe that Brenda truly deserves being recognised for the Penelope Everett ‘Member of the Year’ Award.
Shirley Sexton and Anne Rogers