A PRESTIGIOUS title — the first of its kind for Callington — has been bestowed upon a former councillor in appreciation of his commitment to the town.

The longest ever serving councillor on Callington Town Council, Jeremy Gist, who retired from the position earlier this month after nearly 40 years, was presented with the special title of honorary burgess in recognition of his dedication to Callington.

It is the first time, in living memory, that such a title has been awarded in Callington and can be given in recognition of a significant service made by an individual to the community over a considerable period of time. Significant service means service above and beyond the call of duty, voluntary service or any other activities which have brought long-term benefit to the town.

Town clerk Helen Dowdall said: ‘Jeremy has been a councillor for 39 years and in that time has been portreeve four times. Earlier in the year he gave notice of his retirement. He has given so much over the years, not just on the council but through various organisations, including the police specials, mine rescue and he still heads up the Callington Soup run team which feeds the homeless in Plymouth.

‘He is the heart and soul of Callington and his contribution and knowledge is irreplaceable, but we respect his decision to want to spend more time with his family. He is a true gem and will be sorely missed.’

Helen said it was an ‘extremely difficult’ task to give a gift to him that would recognise his invaluable contribution and the council believed that presenting the honorary burgess title for the first time ever in Callington would go some way to showing its appreciation.

‘As this was the first time we have ever given it, we hope it shows how important Jeremy has been to us and how important he will always be to us,’ she added. ‘We’re going to miss him deeply and know we won’t lose touch. It will be a hard task to replace him.’

Jeremy was presented with the award by portreeve Cllr Mark Smith at the annual civic service on Sunday.

Cllr Smith said: ‘It was a lovely day and was very well received. He is obviously a very popular man as we had over 80 people attend the ceremony. It is the first time in living memory that this title has been awarded that we are aware of. After 39 years of service to the community it is just a small token of our appreciation of the work that he has done here.’

During the ceremony, Cllr Smith also presented a number of other awards. The group of the year award was given to Callington Fire Brigade for its many years of outstanding contribution to protecting the community. Recognition was also given to the employers of the retained fire fighters, who allow their staff members to rush off when they are called out, not knowing when they may return.

Resident Barry Higgins was presented with the citizen of the year award for being an unsung hero over several decades, acting as treasurer for various organisations, most predominantly Age Concern, and resident Mikkie Raphael was given a highly commended award for his instigation of community litter picks in the town.

Helen said: ‘Barry is a real gem and has been an unsung hero over the years and we thought it was time we showed him recognition for his work.

‘We also wanted to thank Mikkie for taking the initiative to do something for the town. Where so many communities moan about the state of their towns, we’ve bucked a trend and with the aid of social media, he has got people interested and caring for their community.’