Press release 30 January 2015
Public urged to vote for Kevin as online vote opens for national award
30 January 2015
People in Swindon and Wiltshire are being encouraged to get behind a local railway enthusiast who is in the running for a prestigious tourism award.
Kevin Shurmer will go head to head with nine other nominees from across the country from tomorrow (31 Jan) in a bid to be crowned England’s Tourism Superstar.
The competition, run by VisitEngland and supported by the Daily Mirror, recognises the dedication and passion of those working in the tourism industry and is awarded to an individual who goes above and beyond the call of duty to ensure visitors to England have an unforgettable experience.
Kevin was nominated for the award by VisitWiltshire for his unstinting work in promoting Swindon’s railway heritage through the hundreds of talks he has given to visitors throughout the years in his role at Swindon Borough Council’s STEAM Museum.
With a huge interest in the railways, Kevin’s family association with steam engines goes back five generations to the days of Brunel. His great, great granddad started life in Swindon’s railway works in 1858 as a watchman with his son and the son after that working as boiler men.
Kevin’s dad joined the works as a French polisher and his brother served an apprenticeship as an electrician. Kevin himself had a brief stint ‘inside’ the works as a coach painter in 1981.
He left for a 20-year career with a medical technology company but a chance encounter with a railway engineer, who was restoring artefacts for Swindon Borough Council’s soon-to-be-opened railway museum, led to him rekindling his love affair with steam as he joined the volunteers who ensured the old engines were in pristine condition for the museum’s opening.
And when STEAM did open its doors on 14 June 2000, Kevin was also there to welcome the first visitors.
Kevin said: “I work front of house so I get to meet all the visitors as they come in, but my main love is giving the talks. I’ve given talks where the youngest audience member was two and the oldest was over 100, from groups of between five and 10 to up to 300 people.
“I love it because I can talk about the subject from my experiences at first-hand. To me the history of the railway works in Swindon is very important, it is what made Swindon.
“These works were the biggest and best locomotive works in the world full stop. There is a housing estate now where the works were and the people that live there now probably don’t know what sacred land they are living on, where some of the finest steam locomotives in the world were built.”
Kevin works at STEAM for 25 hours a week, but such is his passion he would love to spend even more time there recounting stories from Swindon’s past.
“If I’ve got an excuse to come down here, I will find it,” said Kevin. “It would be fantastic if I won this award and the icing on the cake would be an inch thick compared to the half inch for just being nominated. I would be immensely proud as it would be an award not just for me, but for all the people who spent time in the Swindon Works who are no longer here - all I am doing is keeping a part of their history alive.”
Cllr Garry Perkins, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member who is responsible for STEAM, said: “Kevin has done fantastically well just to be nominated and it is just reward for the countless hours he has spent recounting Swindon’s rich railway heritage to the many visitors to STEAM over the years.
“Kevin provides a link to Swindon’s past and, in particular, to the thousands of people who worked in the town’s railway works and it is important their stories are not forgotten.
“So I would urge anyone with an affinity for the railways or who is proud of Swindon and Wiltshire’s heritage to vote for Kevin as he is a great ambassador for STEAM and the town as a whole.”
David Andrews, CEO at VisitWiltshire, said: “This is one of the most prestigious tourism awards in the country so we were delighted to be asked to submit nominations by VisitEngland for our Wiltshire Tourism Superstar.
“Through his passion, enthusiasm and warmth of welcome, Kevin epitomises all that is best about the people that work in Swindon & Wiltshire’s visitor economy and we would encourage everyone to vote for him as soon as the voting opens on Saturday 31 January on www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/travel”
Voting is open until Saturday, 28 February. The winner will be announced on March 14, the first day of English Tourism Week (14-22 March) and will be invited to attend VisitEngland’s Awards for Excellence held in May this year.
Notes to editors:
Media contact: Kevin Burchall, Communications Officer, Swindon Borough Council, 01793 463105.
About VisitWiltshire:
VisitWiltshire was established in August 2011 and is the official Tourist Board for Wiltshire. It is a private sector organisation representing over 550 partners. VisitWiltshire's priority is to grow the county's visitor economy by raising awareness of the destination and generating additional tourism visits and spend. Wiltshire's Visitor Economy currently generates an estimated £1.4billion and supports over 28,000 jobs.
Contact: PR Manager Florence Wallace flowallace@visitwiltshire.co.uk www.visitwiltshire.co.uk. Tel: 01722 341309 or 07436 588860.