A generous Olympic Torchbearer has donated her Torch to Crawley Borough Council to put on display in the Town Hall and take to events.

 

Kim Spence, 48, works for UPS at Gatwick – an Olympic sponsor – and was chosen as one of two out of more than 9,500 UK staff to be a Torchbearer.

 

Kim, who walks with crutches, held the torch aloft in Walsall on Saturday (30 June) and has now delivered it to the Town Hall, handing it over to Councillor Lenny Walker, Cabinet member for Leisure and Culture.

 

Kim said: “I really wanted to do this because it’s something that should be shared. Running with it was an amazing feeling. I can’t begin to describe how it felt and I’ll never be able to top it whatever I do. I have been given an amazing opportunity.”

 

Kim, who attended St Francis, Notre Dame and St Wilfrid’s schools in Crawley, had a crowd of 70 friends, family and colleagues cheering her on in the Midlands.

 

“The Torch Relay brings so many people together. The weather wasn’t brilliant but no one seemed to care. Everybody was in a great mood.”

 

The council will display Kim’s Torch in reception on the ground floor of the Town Hall and take it to events around the town, including:

• Freedom Leisure’s drop-in event at K2 Crawley on 17 July
• Adventure playgrounds during the summer holidays
• Other Olympic and sports-related events.

 

At all of these events the public will be able to take photos of their friends and family with the torch. The council will return the Olympic Torch to Kim in September.

 

Councillor Walker said: “This is a fantastic gesture from Kim, for which we are truly grateful. Anyone meeting Kim for the first time will be bowled over by her warmth, enthusiasm and zest for life, as I was. I’m sure her Olympic Torch will be the main focus at the events it is taken too, as well as being a popular sight when on display in the Town Hall.”

 

Kimmy was nominated by Hannah Gill, a colleague of Kim’s at UPS. Part of her nomination said: “A number of us feel Kim would be a worthy ambassador to be one of the Olympic Torch Bearers.

 

“Although Kim herself is disabled, she still finds time to help a lot of people out in various ways. Whether it is a neighbour, family member or co-worker, Kim will go the extra mile to provide care and assistance.

 

“Kim is always very generous and is always the one at UPS Gatwick to start a collection, whether it's for charity or for colleagues' needs.

 

“She used to help out at Mid Sussex Body Positive, assisting people with HIV and AIDS, and helping them through their emotional journey.”