Volunteer champion, Valerie Munro, of Richmond Talking Newspaper (RTN), has been recognised in the Royal Voluntary Service's special awards celebrating the Queen's 70-year-reign.

The Duchess of Cornwall has crowned nearly 500 volunteers 'Platinum Champions', calling them 'the backbone of our country'.

Camilla headed a star-studded judging panel which included Alex Jones, Felicity Kendal, Gethin Jones, Myleene Klass, Ade Adepitan, Tom Read Wilson and Gyles Brandreth to select the nation's most outstanding volunteers to mark the Queen's Jubilee.

Among the winners were Valerie Munro, the vice-chair of RTN in recognition of the incredible work she did to keep the talking newspaper going during the pandemic and beyond.

Until Covid, recording and distribution took place weekly in a church hall. Anticipating lockdown, Valerie rescued recording equipment and her dining room table became the new studio. This quick-thinking action ensured listeners continued to receive weekly recordings, often described as their lifeline.

Valerie then exploited all technical possibilities, with recordings done in readers' homes on smartphones, and then emailed back to the production hub. Under her direction, production values improved, and carefully curated content helped to maintain the mental health of already vulnerable listeners.

 A long time RTN listener David Merkel said: "'Prior to the pandemic, we were used to a weekly one hour's recording, and it would have been understandable for this to have been shortened due to a lack of material.

"However, each week we were presented with a varied, fresh and informative one hour plus of listening material, which became our lifeline to the outside world.    In Richmond we were lucky. Other UK talking newspapers had to stop during this difficult time."

David added: "The impact on us was immeasurable - hearing those familiar voices each week made all the difference to us.  Being on your own is one thing but living with damaged sight takes isolation to another level."

Post-Covid, Valerie continues to encourage volunteers to create a talking newspaper fit for future purpose. 

RTN's listeners' representative Alison Kelly said: "The challenge that lockdown presented to our blind and visually impaired listeners was serious, and the importance of maintaining their weekly paper cannot be overestimated.

"Valerie's determination to do this inspired the team of volunteers to support her in so many different ways. Volunteers rose to the occasion and mastered the art of recording on their smart phones; some volunteers joined a rota of news gatherers assembling local stories for distribution to readers; others were committed to ensuring the safe distribution of memory sticks, week in and week out. None of this would have happened without Valerie's inspired lead.'

Richmond Talking Newspaper has been operating for the last 43 years, and although the recording process has changed from analogue to digital, the promise remains of a one hour collection of local and community news each week.  The service is entirely run by volunteers and is free to the listener. 

For further information on how to subscribe visit www.rtn.org.uk , or telephone 020 8892 0826.