Town Awards for David Powell & Tony Keay
Town Awards were presented at the Councillors Christmas Hospitality on Saturday 9th December 2023
The worthy recipients were former councillor and Horley Royal British Legion President David Powell and Royal British Legion Member Tony Keay and were presented with their awards by Town Mayor, Cllr Martin Saunders.
Tony Keay (pictured on the right)
Tony, an ex-Royal Navy officer, joined the Horley Royal British Legion in 2012 and almost immediately took on the role of the Branch Secretary together with the responsibility of organising the annual Remembrance Parade and Service of Remembrance held at the Horley War Memorial, the opening of the Garden of Remembrance, held the Wednesday before the Remembrance Service, and the 11.11.11 gathering in Horley Town centre to mark the signing of the Armistice at the end of both World Wars. Tony continues to maintain a strong affinity with the local ex-service population and has been deeply involved in organising special events locally such as the commemorative services following the loss of both the Queen Mother and Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as well as attendances at local funerals of ex-servicemen and women.
For Tony's full citation click here
David Powell (pictured on the left)
David served as a Horley Town Councillor for 16 years. He was elected Chairman & Town Mayor in 2018 for 2 years and was appointed Vice-Chairman and Deputy Town Mayor in 2021. He had many accomplishments during this time, including championing the ‘’Go Horley – Go Green’ environment campaign along with many fundraising initiatives, including the annual Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. David Powell was elected to the Borough Council in 2012 and then appointed Deputy Mayor in 2015. The following year, in May 2016 with his theme of office entitled ‘Love your Community’, he was the first Horley Town Councillor to be elected Mayor of Reigate & Banstead for 25 years. He was also a school governor at Horley Infants School for many more years.
In 2014, aged 78 and whilst the Mayor of Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, he became the oldest person in the world to perform a daytime High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) Freefall Skydive from 30,000 feet to raise monies for various charities. David has continued to fundraise for various charities and only retired as a Horley Town Council member this year.
For David's full citation click here
