As provost it was an honour to host Armed Forces Day to recognise the bravery and dedication of the armed forces personnel in our area, both veterans and those currently serving.

Proud forces personnel paraded through the streets of Clydebank and I would like to thank the members of the public who came along to show their support and appreciation on the day.

Last month, I was pleased to give a tour of our town hall to two veteran soldiers visiting Clydebank from America. Douglas Conroy and Wayne Garrett, from Arkansas, were very impressed with the history of the town hall and the resilience shown by our residents to rebuild the burgh following the attacks during the Blitz.

I attended an event last month to thank the dedicated members of our Children’s Panel. These members give up their time to help children in West Dunbartonshire and it is right that their commitment is recognised and they are publicly thanked for the time they spend away from their own families. Their efforts do not go unnoticed.

Another group of dedicated volunteers who thoroughly deserves public recognition is the Working 4U Learning volunteers who provide one-on-one support to students taking courses to improve their job prospects. Some have been volunteering for more than 15 years, which is remarkable.

I was also impressed with the range of support to residents at the Learning Disability Conference. The event gave service users, carers, families and community groups the opportunity to share good practice and showcase the many supports available to improving and supporting the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities to encourage independent living.

With schools now finished for the summer, I had great pleasure in attending Our Holy Redeemer’s show “Beauty and the Beast”.

The cast was outstanding and I definitely think we are nurturing future stage and screen stars going by their performance. Another school with shining stars is Dumbarton Academy who won the overall award at the School Games Awards Night.

The school was awarded the Spirit of West Dunbartonshire School Games Award for their sporting involvement within their school community and their work with their feeder schools to promote healthy active lives to their peers.