MIKE Reith received a standing ovation at the Junior Sports Awards last week following his farewell speech.
The Council’s Director of Leisure Services, who is also the secretary of the Banbridge District Sports Association, is stepping down from his role at the end of the year.
“I have been involved with these Sports Awards since their inception. The fi
rst awards were back in 1989, which were a fairly humble affair in the Coach Inn,” Mr Reith said at the ceremony.
“Sport makes my world go round and that’s part of my job. It has been an absolute pleasure to be secretary of the association since 1989 and it’s been a pleasure to watch it grow from a small committee with a small budget to quite a large committee.
“I think the Sports Association has played a very important role in sports development in the district. The Coucil had the confidence several years ago to delegate it’s grants awards scheme to sporting individuals to the Sports Association and I feel that it’s only right that sports people decide who gets sports grants.
“It has been a great community relations exercise and there has never been any differences across our committee.
“It has been a wonderful experience for me in my role as a council officer to serve the Sports Association and I wish the association every success for the future.”
The full article contains 239 words and appears in Banbridge Leader newspaper.
