Almost £1,000,000 has been raised for farming’s charity in
Norfolk since 1986, said the retiring RABI county secretary.Sally Mitchell thanked 250-strong supporters at the latest
Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution’s summer cocktail party at the
Norfolk showground.
A
total of £947,043.11 had been raised – including £161,000 from the last 33
cocktail parties, she said.The
annual eve-of-show cocktail parties, brainchild of former NFU county chairman
David Ritchie in 1985, had gone from strength to strength with the support of
the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association.
Mrs
Mitchell, who started fund-raising for RABI at the Acle NFU dinner dance in
1982, was joint deputy chairman of farming’s charity between 1996 and 2004.Paul
Burrows, RABI’s chief executive, said that her leadership had been influential
as a trustee over many years. And she had campaigned to enable the charity to
help all those in the agricultural industry including farm staff as the Royal
Charter was amended in 1997.
Her
efforts, especially during the world’s worst foot-and-mouth epidemic in 2001,
when a total of £10m was given by the charity, were an inspiration, he said.A
former chairman of the charity’s Manson House retirement complex at Bury St
Edmunds, she had been closely involved in the latest £6m extension and
refurbishment programme.
Last
year, Norfolk raised £30,000 but a total of £110,000 was given to the charity’s
beneficiaries in the county, said Mrs Mitchell. And highlights of the county’s
fund-raising efforts had included the cookbook, Farmers’ Favourites – still in
print and costing £4.99 – and the Sing for your Supper events – and successful
bike rides.
Made
MBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours, she thanked all those, including her
husband, John, her sons, Joe, Harry and Sam, and family, for their support over
the years.
A
hand-carved wooden bench was presented by Sir John White, of the Salle estate,
on behalf of the county committee. An auction further boosted funds with east
Norfolk farmer Luke Paterson, a former chairman of Stalham Farmers’ Club,
bidding £2,100 for two guns on Sir John’s Salle Park shoot.