Maurice Monk was given a Civic Award in 2000 for championing the “Vision for Wokingham”. There follows an extract from the Wokingham Times in 2000: –
The owner of Wokingham’s Cantley House Hotel has been rewarded for the many hours he has spent applying a great deal of imagination into making Wokingham a better place.
Maurice Monk is currently chairman of both the Wokingham Chamber of Trade and Commerce and the Town Centre Management Initiative (TCMI). He championed the “Vision for Wokingham”, a bid to bring a fresh look to the town centre by improving traffic snarl-ups and boosting pride in the town. Mr Monk said he was “chuffed to pieces ” to win.
He set out to do his bit for the town because he believes business people should contribute to the community they depend on. “But” he said, “pride got in the way, I hate to be seen not to achieve things. The project I have enjoyed most in a sense was my least successful venture, the ‘Vision for Wokingham’. We developed a trust between businesses and councillors who together really genuinely wanted to make a difference. It’s nice to be recognised – it makes me think somebody has noticed after all. People love to have a go at anybody who sticks their neck out, so it really is quite gratifying”
Wokingham Town Museum Unique Identifier: WTH0423