Buckie’s Roots presented with King’s Award honour for ‘exceptional’ contributions to community
Members of a dedicated community group have been presented with the highest award for voluntary service.
Last November, Buckie’s Roots were unveiled as winners of the King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS), which is the equivalent to an MBE in the royal honours list.
Wednesday, April 16 saw the group formally presented with their award certificate and commemorative crystal by Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire Andrew Simpson at a special ceremony in Buckie’s Fishermen’s Hall. Individual King’s Awards were presented to 27 volunteers from the group.
First founded back in 2018 as the Friends of Buckie Square, the volunteer team have expanded their remit beyond keeping the centre of town beautiful - a task they still take very seriously. They have gone from strength to strength over the years by undertaking different opportunities such as planting and tending communal flower beds and planters, being involved in crafting projects, joining in with the litter picking - they are currently just 40 short of collecting 2000 bags of litter - supporting Buckie’s community lunches and working with other groups and schools.
For the past two festive seasons, Buckie’s Roots have organised a hugely popular Christmas carol service in Cluny Square.
They have also won their share of awards, including the Moray and Banffshire Heroes Community Champion title in 2023 and been honoured under Keep Scotland Beautiful’s It’s Your Neighbourhood awards for four years in a row between 2021 and 2024.
Mr Simpson lauded Buckie’s Roots for being an “exceptional” group and for “making a difference” over the years.
He told the awards ceremony audience: “If there's one word that I want to leave with you tonight, it's the simple word, congratulations.
“For the last few years, I've been very aware not only of the achievement of the volunteers at Buckie’s Roots, but also of the very high esteem with which they are held locally and beyond the locality.
“You have transformed the centre of the town. You have worked with community groups. You have already won several awards yet none of these achievements meant that you would achieve the King's Award for Voluntary Service automatically. In achieving this award, you have been judged to be exceptional at a national UK standard.
“To be part of that small number is to be celebrated, for the process of being recognised and of achieving the award is rigorous.
“I must suggest that there are two key reasons why Buckie’s Roots is exceptional. Firstly, the people involved. For those who hold committee positions and do the planning, the negotiating, the creative thinking and then the co-ordinating.
“But the committee do not do everything on their own. There is everybody gathered here tonight, you have all played your part. The volunteers who give up time to plant, to weed, to pick up litter and do so much more. Those who get enjoyment from their achievements and the social contacts that they have with each other in doing these tasks.
“And nor, of course, can we forget the other groups, the local businesses, who work with Buckie's Roots to support them in all that you are achieving. In practical ways, so many people have used their particular skills, their resources and the ambition to maintain and enhance Buckie.
“The second reason why they are exceptional is the impact that they are having on this area. As Lord Lieutenant I get to speak to a wide range of people from across the whole of the area and you would be surprised just how often Buckie’s Roots comes up in conversation, and it's all good. Visitors to the area will sometimes ask me if I've seen the latest display in the square. They will enthusiastically speak of the colours and the cheerfulness. Others have commented on the tidiness and the lack of litter.
“What you are achieving has made a real impact on the town and on the community. In short, you've given pride to the community, you have made a difference.
“So it is that on behalf of His Majesty King Charles III, it gives me great pleasure to present Buckie's Roots with the King's Award for Voluntary Service.“
A delighted Meg Jamieson, who chairs Buckie’s Roots, spoke of the group’s pride in being awarded a KAVS honour.
She said: “It is fantastic, absolutely fantastic, this is the highest honour you can get for a voluntary group.
“I think it's just a bit of recognition that the volunteers do a good job.
“It’s been seven years now and we’re still here and going strong. I never thought we’d still be here, that there’d be a Buckie Roots. We started off as the Friends of Buckie Square because of all the negativity there was on Facebook about the state of it at the time. The idea was to come in, dig up the square, put in some flowers and walk away.
“However, we soon realised we had to do a bit more because of the response we were getting. That was when we met up with Moray Council’s Community Support Unit who helped us through the process of getting charitable status. We changed our name to Buckie’s Roots and adopted the line Building Community Spirit.
“I think that’s something we’ve done and then some - community spirit is definitely back in Buckie!
“We’ve expanded a lot and the size we’re at just now is about right.
“Buckie’s Roots have lots of events coming up, including our second charity gala.”
Buckie’s Roots were nominated for the King’s Award by Steve Thornton and Christine Allen.
For more information and updates about Buckie’s Roots, visit their Facebook page
Presented recently with their KAVS was local group Footprints, which is based at Portessie Public Hall and offer a social club for adults with a wide range of disabilities. The two Buckie groups are among just 281 voluntary organisations across the UK to be awarded a KAVS this time around.
The King’s Award process for Buckie Roots and the other hopefuls actually began last summer, involving a rigorous selection and interview process with two of the Deputy Lieutenants of Banffshire, Tricia Lawson and Major (Ret) Maurice Gibson, both of whom were guests at the awards ceremony in the Fishermen’s Hall.
