Congratulations to Rotarian Richard Pither Honorary Citizen of Diss

Richard Pither making Diss a better place by helping others

When Richard arrived in Diss in 1963 as a young livestock auctioneer and trainee agricultural valuer it took him less than a week to join both the Young Farmers and the Rugby Club where he went on to take leading roles in both.  He was involved in the rugby club’s initial move to Bellrope Lane and young farmers making their home at what was then the old tennis pavilion at Roydon - a sectional building that has since been moved to Burston. He subsequently practiced as a Chartered Building Surveyor in and around Diss and in the 1970s he sat on Diss Town Council.  At that time the weekly corn market had recently ceased trading, and the Corn Hall had an uncertain future.  To save it from being sold he spearheaded a scheme of improvements that ensured it had a future as a town amenity.

Richard joined Rotary in 1997 and became club president of the Diss club in 2006.   He has been involved in many club projects and fundraising events. For our Rotary Club, Richard organises the Easter egg charity draws in local venues such as pubs, cafes and shops which raises around £2000 each year for charities including EACH, Norfolk Air Ambulance and the international End Polio Now. He is currently involved in the Diss Rotary club project to raise funds to send 2 refurbished ex-Norfolk fire engines to Ukraine.

During his year as President, he supported a new project to provide water and sanitation to remote communities in Zambia called Village Water.  Over subsequent years he helped raise funds for the project from Rotary clubs from Cornwall to Caithness.  Together with matching grants the funds totalled well over £100,000.  The club is still represented on the Village Water board of trustees and is a regular supporter.

Also, in his presidential year the club supported Richard in founding the Diss Community Woodland Project that went on to establish Quaker Wood on Factory Lane.  This public access open space was opened in 2010.  Richard has remained the secretary of the project since inception and Quaker Wood has become far more than just a popular recreational area.   The now established woodland, grassed and mixed vegetation areas have become an important biodiversity area which is home to an ever-increasing range of flora and fauna. Richard continues to organise working parties to maintain Quaker Wood

In addition, Quaker Wood provides an important learning and development amenity for school groups, youth groups and other community groups.   The success of Quaker Wood and Richard’s enthusiasm for green space and biodiversity has led the Woodland Group to expand its horizons.  So, from small beginnings, the Diss Community Woodland Project is now seeking other opportunities in the locality   to create public green space that will benefit nature and the local community.

He has been a regular cyclist with Diss CTC for nearly 20 years and club chair.  As a ride leader he is known for his knowledge of local lanes and short cuts – and good local cafes! He has organised and participated in several sponsored rides raising funds for charities over the years.

When his wife was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, it was typical of Richard to get on and do something practical to help her and others locally. He has set up and runs the Diss Macular Society group which meets monthly to give support to local people with sight loss.

Currently he is coordinating a small event to highlight the wartime Blacker Bombard gun emplacement in Denmark Lane.  This event will be part of the Town’s celebration of the 80th anniversary of VE day on 8 May.

Richard’s generosity with his time and energy continues to benefit the people of our town and beyond and this award would be a very fitting thank you to recognise his community spirit both ongoing and over many years.

Diss Town’s first publicly available defibrillators thanks to Ken Chapman

Ken Chapman is being put forward for the Honorary Citizen award because of his considerable contribution over many years to the community of Diss. He was well known in the town as an electrical contractor. He specialised in industrial, agricultural and commercial installations and control systems with his company business based in the town. It was established in 1979, though this is now closed, as he has retired. He and his wife live a few miles into Suffolk.

 He has been an active member of the Diss and District Rotary Club since 1987. He used his professional knowledge to help the Club through lighting up the Christmas tree on the Mere, a lovely contribution to the town over many years. But he is being put forward for this honour because he was one of the original proposers that this Rotary Club should fundraise for, place and maintain defibrillators, publicly available over 24 hours. Two were placed and a third is sponsored by another Rotarian. This happened in 2016, and Ken, now in his 90^th year is still leading the small team that monitors them monthly, making sure they are ready for use.

As well as his work with Rotary he has also served Diss Methodist Church in many ways. But it is not all work – his diverse hobbies include travel, at home and abroad, flying – he has held a private pilot’s licence - ski-ing and golf as well as I.T.