Tower and Town, August 2021 (view the full edition)Inspiring Volunteers: Vicky SullivanVicky is one of the movers and shakers of this town and we are lucky to have her here. She was born in Nottingham and is periodically tempted to return to her roots, but somehow Marlborough has managed to hang on to her. For 40 years, Vicky was married to John Sullivan, whom every member of Marlborough Golf Club will remember as a leading figure in that organisation. Perhaps less well known is that Vicky nursed him through an illness lasting years before finally losing him. Since then she has taken a firm grip on two of Marlborough's institutions, the Marlborough and District LINK Scheme and the Marlborough Women's Institute whose motto is "inspiring women". Before that came a professional life as an insurance broker, where Vicky ran her own business in Swindon. That experience gave her an extensive and rock solid knowledge of insurance law and liability which she has deployed to good effect in her running of a Marlborough LINK Scheme where there are clear, solid protocols for every aspect of the enterprise and an enormous awareness of the possible pitfalls that a seemingly simple, innocent volunteer organisation can find itself falling into. Her volunteers feel very safe with her at the helm. I first encountered Vicky when I responded to a leaflet I found in the back of St Mary's church. My mother was a grateful and frequent user of LINK in her latter years when walking was difficult but shopping needed to be done and visits made. So I picked up the phone and asked whether Marlborough LINK needed volunteer drivers. Boy did that open the flood gates! Before I knew it, I was sitting in Vicky's study being interviewed not just for the driving but for every last thing I could contribute. Vicky's life experience has taught her that everyone has hidden talents and her command of Marlborough LINK gave her the perfect opportunity to probe her unsuspecting volunteers who very quickly found themselves not just driving but contributing their other gifts too. In my own case, when Vicky discovered I could program computers, she grabbed me to write a management program for the running of Marlborough LINK and enthusiastically championed it in the periodic meetings with the county-wide Wiltshire LINK Schemes. She embraces change and progress: the grass doesn't grow under her feet or anywhere near them. That is the secret of Vicky's greatness: she believes in people and is totally committed to encouraging them to fly when most are pretty contented just to walk. She is a particular champion of women in Marlborough and is the current President of the Marlborough W.I., setting herself to make everyone a speaker so that their voices are heard. If that takes using a roving microphone, then she gets in a roving microphone and makes certain the quieter voices are properly heard alongside the vociferous. We are very lucky to have her amongst us. If anyone deserves a medal for services to Marlborough, it's Vicky Sullivan. Hugh de Saram |