We were honoured to receive a Corporate Members Plaque from Lockerbie and District Rotary Club recently. Ivan Kennedy, President of Lockerbie and District Rotary, presented Rob MacKenna, General Manager, with the plaque.
Ivan Kennedy commented "Lockerbie and District Rotary are proud to have James Jones Lockerbie Mill as Corporate Members. They have given the Club tremendous support, providing the club with timber for a project that the club has with HMP Dumfries, which was the idea of Rotarian Bryan Woods and is led by him with the assistance of fellow members.
"HMP Dumfries use the wood in their workshop to produce various items of garden furniture such as seats, benches, trugs, raised flower beds, bird, bat, and hedgehog boxes etc. These are distributed by Lockerbie and District Rotary Club to local schools and organisations. A few items are also sold to raise funds for the club to help with other community projects. The prison use the wood for their own gardens and projects. The workshop recently made a boardroom table with James Jones & Sons timber, which has pride of place in the Boardroom at the Headquarters of the Scottish Prison Service in Edinburgh.
"One of the benefits of this partnership is it allows prisoners who volunteer to take part in the project and gain new skills that will enhance their employability on their release, but also importantly allows them to give back to the community.
"None of this would happen but for the help given by Rob MacKenna, General Manager of the Stevens Croft Mill and the timber donated by James Jones & Sons Limited."