A community volunteer from The Chalfonts who has tirelessly dedicated his free time to raise awareness and protect his community from scams, has received a Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) Brian Smith Hero Award.
Described as the ‘father’ of Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards Volunteers, 88-year-old Geoffrey Boswell has worked as a scam marshall and community champion in the Chalfonts area for the past five years.
But when the awards were presented at a special ceremony in London in July, Geoffrey wasn’t able to be there.
So County Council Chairman Brian Roberts made a special trip to Geoffrey’s home on Monday, September 16, to make the presentation.
Geoffrey, a carer for a relative who had been caught in a scam, uses his personal experience to help vulnerable and socially isolated people to recover from their ordeals.
He is seen as the ‘eyes and ears’ of his community, running Friends Against Scams sessions as a SCAMchampion and assisting Trading Standards with test purchasing and food allergen work.
Geoffrey said: “It’s absolutely vital that we volunteers are backed up by professional Trading Standards officer, and that works very well in Buckinghamshire. I’m greatly honoured to be given this award.”
Brian said: “Volunteers like Geoffrey are worth their weight in gold. If it weren’t for their dedication and commitment to helping others in the fight against the scammers, our communities would be much the poorer. I applaud Geoffrey’s success, and it was a real privilege to meet him and present him with an award he justly deserves.”
The CTSI Hero Awards celebrate those who make outstanding contributions towards consumer protection in their communities.
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