A 'sign' of our gratitude for 'rolling the dice' on community-based projects - groups honoured for contributions to Boston

The two groups receiving their Civic Awards in a special ceremony at Boston Borough Council.

Boston Signs Group and Boston Big Local have each received a Civic Award from Boston Borough Council.

They were presented with the honour in a ceremony held in the Council Chambers on Thursday.

The Boston Signs Group was recognised for its work in replacing or refurbishing five of the town’s ‘Boston’ signs. The Boston Big Local Group, meanwhile, was honoured for helping create a Boston edition of Monopoly.

The Boston Signs Group began when resident Mike Gilbert decided, last year, that something needed to be done about the worn-looking signs sited on the approach roads to the town.

Via social media, he put together a team of volunteers for the job: Dmitrii Buravlev, supply chain manager at Metsa Wood UK, his wife Natalia, and members of the Men’s Shed Group.

Also involved was John Shaw, of Boston, who sadly died before seeing the project finished. He helped Mike renovate the signs that are on display in Spilsby Road and Horncastle Road. The others are on the A16, Sleaford Road and Horncastle Road.

Mike: said “This was an extraordinary task we set ourselves. We were so fortunate to have a talented team of volunteers who all worked painstakingly hard to recreate this signage for our residents and visitors to the town. What was particularly remarkable, was how well the community and the council worked together throughout this project demonstrating high levels of trust between them.”

In December of last year, The Boston Big Local Group helped supply the town with 1,500 Boston-themed Monopoly board games.

These went on sale at a range of community venues as a way of raising money for them and within a few weeks they had sold out.

The idea of honouring these groups was put forward by Coun Tom Ashton, member for Old Leake and Wrangle, last month.

In recognising them, the Mayor of Boston, Coun Frank Pickett, said: “I feel proud and honoured to award these two groups today with their Civic Awards as a token of our gratitude for their hard work and devotion to the borough.”