A SPECIAL day celebrating all that is good about Rotherham will take place in September – and organisers have called for the town to pull together to create a legacy for future generations.

Charity, business, community, sport and education leaders attended a New York Stadium call to arms to progress the September 18 Rotherham Day event, which is hoped will become a movement that will shape the town’s future.

They joined Rotherham United honorary life president John Breckin, TMP Mortgage Network chief executive Scott Thorpe and managing director Nick Jenkinson, who said the aim was for the day to expand year by year and become a “game-changer” for the town.

Mr Breckin, a Rotherham Hospice ambassador who played more than 400 games for the Millers, said Mr Thorpe had first mentioned the idea at an awards night just 19 days before the NYS gathering.

'A CRACKING TOWN': Businessman Phil Smith spoke of his pride in the Rotherham at New York Stadium.

placeholder image — 'A CRACKING TOWN': Businessman Phil Smith spoke of his pride in the Rotherham at New York Stadium.

He said: “Since then we have had two weekends and a holiday, but my dad used to say ‘son, Rome wasn’t built in a day but if Rotherham lads and lasses were there it would have been’.

“We are not going to stop after this.

“This is all about legacy and looking back in ten-15 years and saying ‘I was there when it happened’.

“We have 28 weeks.

GLOW UP: The Minster - lit up for the recent FLUX Winter Light Festival - could turn red for Rotherham Day

“Go home and make this happen, make something happen, even if it’s wearing something red or tying a red ribbon on your car.

“Let us get behind this and paint the town red.”

Ideas include September 18 being a non-uniform day in which everyone in every school wears red, tying red ribbons to cars, painting schools, houses and businesses red, a music event in Wickersley, a Baton Relay, the creation of a Red Ale, the production of a book, lighting up the Minster in red and supporting Rotherham businesses.

Mr Breckin told the audience sports teams including Rotherham United, Rotherham Ladies, Titans, and the Hockey Club could go into schools and talk about their achievements to inspire youngsters.

Pupils and staff from St Bede's School join Tony Stewart for the official opening of AESSEAL's interactive tree walk.

Other aspects the town should be proud of which he highlighted included Wentworth Woodhouse, Keppel’s Column, The Chapel on the Bridge, Boston Castle, Clifton Park and its museum, the Minster, Roche Abbey and the various country parks, as well as the coal and steel industries.

Mr Thorpe said the day would be about “deciding what kind of town we wanted to be”, keeping money within Rotherham, wearing red and standing together.

He said: “There have been lots of good projects – the Children’s Capital of Culture, Rotherham Show, the Women’s Euros were held here – but we don’t bring them together as a collective.

“Different charities do wonderful things but no one is pulling it together and we need to.

HIGHLIGHT: Children's Capital of Culture was singled out by John Breckin

“If we employ local people they will buy local products and it will bring the circle together.

“Put Rotherham first. It is something very simple.

“We need to take this on and build a legacy year after year after year.

“We need to walk away from here and decide what we want to do.

“It is about asking as many people as possible to get involved, and the more people we can get talking about Rotherham Day the better it will be.

“This isn’t just about one day and it has to be about every single one of you.

WOW FACTOR: Rotherham's stately home Wentworth Woodhouse.

“We want to help everyone in Rotherham and leave a legacy for future generations.”

Mr Jenkinson said: “It is about bringing schools, colleges, charities, businesses and the community together for one day and then it needs to grow arms and legs.

“This idea is in its very early stages but it is about what we want it to become.”

Businessman Phil Smith told how his pride in the town brought him back to Kimberworth from a career spent working around the world with multinational companies including M&S and Barclays.

Mr Smith, who started financial services firm Embark which he eventually sold to the Lloyds Banking Group, said: “I am proud of Rotherham and where I have come from.

"When people ask me, I say I am from Kimberworth, which is in Rotherham, which is a cracking town.

“Kids here though are not being educated to be ambitious.

“We need to instil a passion in them to be better.

“We were a world-leading industrial place and look now at businesses such as AESSEAL, who sponsor the stadium and have done amazing work here.

“We need more of this, more ambition.”

Bluebell Wood regional fundraiser Hannah Goulding, Rotherham Hospice chief executive Ruth Wallbank and Michelle Cosford of the Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity spoke about the work of the charity sector and the importance of pulling together.

Meanwhile, David Walker spoke of the Rotherham Schools Baton Relay, which reached 82 local schools and between 60-80,000 youngsters across the borough – an event, nominated for a national award, it is hoped will grow around Rotherham Day.