site.btaVratsa Mayor Presents Vestitel Awards to Residents for Work Benefiting Society

Four Vestitel (Herald) awards were presented by Vratsa Mayor Kalin Kamenov on the occasion of the town's 148th anniversary since its liberation from Ottoman rule on Sunday. The awards were given to citizens and organizations for active work for the benefit of society, for participation in significant causes and preservation of ancient Bulgarian values. Kamenov stated that good examples and causes should be supported and thanked the people responsible for their active presence in the public life of Vratsa.

The first to receive the Vestitel award was Tanya Stefanova, who is the main creator of the Municipal Academy of Mathematics. "Almost two years ago, we started the initiative to create the first Centre for Energy Development and New Sciences (CERN) in Bulgaria and one of the first people who believed that we should create our own staff was Tanya Stefanova. She works every day and manages to motivate dozens of children so that our city can eventually have sufficiently prepared technical personnel to develop the economy of Vratsa," Kamenov emphasized. "I share this distinction with the Academy team, which consists not only of us, the teachers, but also of committed young people, students in ninth and tenth grades, and with all the students who trusted us," Stefanova said.

Videolux Holding AD Executive Director Todor Belchev received the Vestitel award for the company being the most active foreign donor supporting the afforestation of neighborhoods and settlements in Vratsa Municipality. The company also assists in the improvement of green spaces between apartment buildings and the construction of playgrounds, Kamenov stated. "I was happy to go here this morning because I really like Vratsa. Here we encounter affection, emotion and understanding from the city administration," Belchev pointed out, adding that the construction of a new retail park in Vratsa surpassed similar projects in other cities in the country.

The sculptor Rumen Barfonchovski was also honored with the Vestitel award, not least for the bas-relief of Dimitraki Hadzhitoshin, which was unveiled on the Day of the People's Awakeners. "The idea is for Vratsa to be the first town in Bulgaria to have all its streets marked in this way," Barfonchovski noted, explaining that in this way children will learn about important Bulgarians and remember them. "This is called immortality," he stated.

The Vestitel award was also presented to Zdravko Dimitrov, who donated one ton of honey to people in need, pensioner clubs and disadvantaged children in Vratsa, with a total worth of the donation amounting to BGN 15,000. "This motivates me to continue helping," Dimitrov stated from the stage. While presenting the award, Kamenov called on the residents of Vratsa to take care of the nature of the town, to plant flowers and to water trees, so that bees can produce honey and people like Zdravko Dimitrov can do good deeds with the honey.