Ballina Salmon Festival holds Volunteer Appreciation Evening
Pictured at the Ballina Salmon Festival/Ballina Chamber of Commerce Volunteer Appreciation Evening at the Cot & Cobble were, from left: Mary Moyles, Lorraine Devlin, Geraldine Clarke, Michael Loftus, Tommy Clarke, and Mary Dunne.
On Sunday, November 2nd, the Ballina Salmon Festival, in partnership with Ballina Chamber of Commerce, held a Volunteer Appreciation Evening in the Cot & Cobble as a thank you to people who donated their time to make this year's festival such a great success.
The event was held in memory of Kevin Clarke, who was a staunch and very active festival volunteer for over 30 years, and was attended by his father Tommy and sister Geraldine.
A presentation was made on the night to recognise the Volunteer of the Year, and the award went to Michael Loftus, who worked tirelessly on many of the festival's major events this year.
A spokesperson for the Ballina Salmon Festival said: "We are delighted to take the opportunity to thank the many local people who helped on the enormous volunteer effort needed to make our town's festival such a great success. It is especially significant that this Volunteer Appreciation Evening was held in memory of Kevin Clarke, who was a dedicated and hard-working volunteer for the festival since the early 1990s until his passing in 2021. And the event was made all the more special by having Kevin's partner, father and sister present.
"We wish to congratulate Michael Loftus, who was awarded Volunteer of the Year for his outstanding efforts. We also want to thank all the people who donated their time to help with the enormous amount of work involved in our annual festival. New volunteers are always needed and welcome!"
