On Wednesday 4th December we were delighted to welcome Katy Bourne OBE, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner to our club. She is seen here in the centre of the photo with President Alison to her left and Maria Ody, Mayoress on her right. Katy delivered an amusing and informative talk about her role, why it was deemed necessary when it was introduced in 2012 and some of her achievements. Katy has been the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner since 2012, and is now serving her fourth term in this role. Under her leadership Sussex Police has become one of the top performing police forces in England and Wales for answering emergency calls, she has funded 8 Victim Co-ordinator posts in a ground-breaking unit called “Fides” to support victims of rape and sexual support during police investigations and prosecutions and has allocated funds to directly support activities which help make public spaces safer for women and children. This is only the tip of the iceberg, Katy showed us a real passion for her role and a belief that although she couldn’t necessarily solve all of Sussex’s problems she was determined to make sure that she would definitely be seen as having made a difference.
We have managed to achieve 3 goals as we collected for our chosen charities. As 2024 marked 90 years of SIGBI we collected 90 items of food for Crawley Open House. However as can be seen from the photos we collected far more than 90 food items. Alongside the fooditems we were also able to contribute gifts to our other charity I Choose Freedom, with clothing, toys and various linens. Hopefully this will provide some Christmas cheer for both charities.