Enid Johnson
Enid was the President of the County Association from 2001 to 2007, Chairman of the County Association for eight years before that and in all that time never missed a meeting.
At club level, she held many offices; in the 1980’s she was Secretary of Dunstable Bowmen, a job that she did for close to twenty years, was a founder member of that club and went on to be its President and later was Chairman of Pepperstock Archers. She played a unique part in setting up and running each year the exchange arrangement between Dunstable and Porz am Rhein having helped that German town to set up an archery club.
She was twice honoured by the Sports Council for her voluntary work with disabled and other sports people and received awards first from Sir Steven Redgrave and later from Steve Cram.
She was for many years a member of both the coaching and judging committees of the Regional Association.
She represented Bedfordshire on the Regional Council for many years, resigning only when failing health made journeys to London very difficult.
Enid was a County judge and never short of requests to officiate. Archers were happy with her approach and organisers always knew that she would be positive and helpful. Neither was she concerned about the level of event. She would put as much effort and energy into a local junior event as she did into the Southern Counties Archery meeting.
She was also a qualified coach and spread her activities over a wider range of options than most people. She was always very happy working with disabled people and was a regular for the Wheelchair Archery Association, ran courses for the local authority, as well as doing all the usual things that archery coaches do. She was also very happy working with young people and not only in archery. She helped to run the Junior European Championships when they were held in Bedfordshire in 1989. She was awarded a gold medallion for her work in 1991 with the London Youth Games. She helped every year with School Athletics in Bedfordshire and was a member of several committees concerned with youth sport.
Her work will continue through the initiatives that she started, through the leaders that she trained and encouraged and through the many archers, able bodied and disabled, young and old that she got started in the sport that played such a large part in her life.
She is truly most worthy of being an Honorary Life Member of the County Association.