FOR someone who has been involved in Okehampton Show for nearly 50 years there is no greater honour than becoming its president, according to Jeffe Cunliffe who will be leading the event this year.
As a member of the Okehampton Show Committee since the 1950s, Mr Cunliffe, a former town mayor and town councillor for 30 years, has been much behind the scenes in organising the event but this is his year in the spotlight.
'This is the highest accolade I could have got in Okehampton,' he said. 'I feel I have done everything I possibly could have done for the show over the years and now I am being repaid with this wonderful honour.'
Mr Cunliffe said Okehampton Show was one of the best one-day shows in the Westcountry and despite being scaled down in 2001 because of the foot and mouth crisis, it will still be well worth a visit.
'The show has previously boasted the highest number of entries in the sheep section for a one-day show,' he said. 'Although there will be no cattle, sheep or goats this time, we will being having a lot more crafts and entertainment — it will be more like a countryside fair.
'The area desperately needs a lift and the show will be an opportunity for people to get out and enjoy themselves.'
Known for his work with MENCAP and the disabled, Mr Cunliffe was instrumental in the opening of the The Leaze Day Centre in Okehampton, something which he regards as one of his highest achievements.
Before his retirement he worked for Devon County Council managing three landfill sites in the area but started his working life as a plumber.
At the age of 82 he is still an active member of the Okehampton branch of MENCAP and Okehampton Hospital League of Friends and is known for his good humoured campaigning spirit.
Mr Cunliffe is the first president to be elected under a new system which honours people who have dedicated their lives to the show.
'After a list of lords, colonels and majors now there will be Jeffe Cunliffe, the plumber,' he joked.
'I am delighted to be president at this stage of my life when I feel I have put everything I can into the event.'
The new president praised his wife, son and daughter who had been a 'tower of strength' supporting him through all he had done in his public life.
'I am just a working chap and my family have been terrific,' he said.