Inverclyde residents were celebrating this week following a local woman’s win at the annual Tenant Participation Advisory Service Scotland (TPAS Scotland) awards.

Jenny Speck, who has worked in a range of voluntary roles in the community, was awarded the Tenant / Resident of the Year Award in recognition of her outstanding work within the Greenock community and beyond.

Despite her many years at the heart of the community, Jenny explained that she was “gob smacked” to receive the award in recognition of the lasting impact of her work for the community which began as a way to get to know people when she moved to the area.

In her own modest style, Jenny attributed her win to the support of those around her.

“You can’t do it unless you have other people around you to support you and learn from,” she said, going on to explain how her success is down to working with others to find solutions to the community’s needs. “You have to challenge people’s views and opinions but I would rather talk to people and understand their point of view than argue with them.”

Jenny was nominated for the award by River Clyde Homes in recognition of her work both to encourage customer participation and for her work on a range of community initiatives. This has included her role as chair of the Broomhill Tenants’ and Residents’ Association and her wider work with River Clyde Homes which has seen her travel to Ireland to study the lessons that could be learnt from regeneration projects there.

Using this knowledge and the experience she has built up over her years within the community, Jenny has worked with NHS Mental Health and Health Centre groups in order to ensure that facilities are built within easy reach of the residents of her estate. She also visited schools in the area to encourage local children to take an active part in the regeneration of their communities.

Albert Henderson, MBE, chair of the River Clyde Homes Board, explained the impact Jenny has had, saying: “Jenny is a great advocate for customer involvement and is constantly speaking to others to encourage them to come along to any events and join our customer groups. With her growing knowledge of the housing field she is able to advocate the needs of specific groups such as homeless people or people requiring specially adapted housing.

“All in all she is a great advocate for tenants across Inverclyde in general, regularly championing the needs of individuals and the community. We’d like to congratulate Jenny on her well, deserved win and thank her and her fellow volunteers for their hard work in our communities.”