Members of Goole Civic Society were special guests at the House of Commons to mark their achievement in celebrating national Civic Day.
The society’s Big Goole Quiz and Treasure Hunt, published in collaboration with the Goole Times, was praised as an excellent example of public engagement at the event hosted by Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic movement.
The event also marked the launch of Civic Day 2017, for which Prime Minister Theresa May sent her support. The Prime Minister said “I am pleased to lend my support to Civic Day, the national celebration of civic pride. It is fantastic to see communities coming together and celebrating where they live.”
Civic Day is part of the Civic Voice vision to create a society where everyone can say “I care about where I live”. It is an annual celebration which gives communities the chance to celebrate their local area and promote civic pride.
Craig Mackinlay MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Civic Societies, welcomed the Prime Minister's support for the campaign. He said “I am overjoyed to hear that the Prime Minister is supporting Civic Day this year. The fact that the Prime Minister is supporting the campaign is a true measure of how important Civic Day is to communities across the country and I strongly urge even more people to get involved this year.“
Joan Humble, chair of Civic Voice said “The first Civic Day was held on June 25th, 2011 and since then over 1,000 community events have been held across England, making Civic Day a truly national event.
“Civic Day is a day for everyone in the local community to come together to celebrate where they live.”
The Chair of Goole Civic Society, Margaret Hicks-Clarke and committee member John Clarke also met local MP Andrew Percy, who arranged priority seats in the public gallery to see the House of Commons in action.
Mrs Hicks-Clarke said: “We were honoured to be invited to this high-profile national event. It was a memorable day and we were proud to represent Goole.”
Goole Civic Society is now planning how to celebrate Civic Day 2017, which will be taking place on June 17th. It hopes to engage even more people in celebrating the unique character of Goole.
If you missed the Goole Civic Society’s Big Goole Quiz, it can be accessed on this website - http://www.goolecivicsociety.org.uk/big-goole-quiz/
Caption 1 – Goole Civic Society Chair Margaret Hicks-Clarke and committee member John Clarke (2nd row, 6th and 7th from left) join Craig Mackinlay MP and Civic Voice members at the House of Commons to launch National Civic Day 2017.
Caption 2 – Goole Civic Society Chair Margaret Hicks-Clarke says “I care about where I live” in a picture published by Civic Voice as part of the launch of Civic Day 2017.