Herefordshire’s Jill Bowen is the latest recipient of the prestigious Bowls England Certificate of Merit, presented by Bowls England President Hazel Marke, at the recent Bowls England Counties Meeting.
Bowls England awards the Certificate of Merit annually to individuals that have provided outstanding service to the sport of outdoor bowls at club and county level in England.
Jill has bowled for over 30 years, and in that time has had significant involvement in many areas to enable the successful organisation of her county association.
In 1993 she became the Competition Secretary for Herefordshire Women’s County Bowls Association and was elected as its President in 2005. Jill then took on the role of Secretary in 2006. Since unification of the Men’s and Ladies’ sections, Jill has also become Official County Administrator of Bowls Herefordshire.
In all of these roles, Jill has admirably performed her secretarial duties of calling both management and selection meetings, keeping accurate minutes, responding to correspondence and ensuring topics are efficiently dealt with as required. In her role as Administrator, Jill ensures the smooth processing of the county’s membership and competition entries, acting as Treasurer to the County Funds.
Jill was made an Honorary Member of the Ladies Section of Bowls Herefordshire in 2018.
As a member of Weobley BC, Jill participates fully within the club and is often involved in organising and catering for club and county fixtures. She can be found on the green supporting newer and less experienced bowlers, helping them to overcome bowling action problems and in her role as an umpire always being on hand to assist bowlers with the laws of the sport.
For more than a decade, Jill has organised Bowls Herefordshire’s Annual Luncheon and Presentation of Prizes.
Upon receipt of her award, Jill said: “I was listening to Hazel reading the citation and thinking that someone does very similar work for their County as I do, and at certain points thinking this is a bit scary but it can’t possibly be me!
“To then hear my name announced and to be presented with the Certificate of Merit award was overwhelming and a very emotional moment.
“To receive this award is such an honour and I thank all those responsible – my County and Bowls England for thinking me worthy of such an honour and for a day I shall never forget”
Bowls England introduced the Certificate of Merit to recognise the work of volunteers to support the sport at Club and County level – from Secretaries and Treasurers to Greenkeepers and Umpires.
The award is open to anyone who is involved with a club, county, organisation or association affiliated to Bowls England, except for those who have already received Life Membership or Honorary Membership of Bowls England.
For more information on the Certificate of Merit, contact dawn@bowlsengland.com.