Inspirational Staffordshire residents handed accolades after being named in Queen's New Year's Honours
Five inspirational people from across Staffordshire have received their accolades after being acknowledged in the Queen's New Year's Honours lists.
Staffordshire County Council hosted a special ceremony at the County Buildings in Stafford where medals were presented to this year's recipients.
Emily Doorbar, Adam Ralph Prince, Ian Derek Mountford and Lianne Jayne Al-Khaldi all received British Empire Medals (BEMs) for their work.
And Barry Michael Bond was handed an MBE by Lord-Lieutenant for Staffordshire Mr Ian Dudson CBE KStJ at the event on behalf of The Queen.
Talking about the awards, Mr Dudson said: "The British Empire Medal is now well established as part of our Honours system, often uniquely recognising voluntary contributions at a very local community level. The contributions have also been more evident and vital during the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I am delighted that we now have another five more Staffordshire residents who have been awarded personal honours recently. Their wonderful contributions have been recognised accordingly and I am privileged to have presented their medals on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.”
Emily, from Stafford, received a BEM for her work in developing a local contact tracing service during the pandemic. She said: "Receiving the award has been a shock and something I wasn’t expecting. As a team we knew how important it was to work together to put support in place for our residents, especially at a time when so much was unknown. I feel proud that we were able to be there for our residents when they needed us and to make a positive difference.
"Contact tracing has played an essential part in our response to Covid-19 and not only has it helped Staffordshire to keep our residents safe, it provided a way for us to connect with our community and offer support at a time when they needed it most. It’s not something I have done before, so it’s fair to say it’s been a challenge, but a rewarding one.”
Meanwhile Lianne Jayne Al-Khaldi received a BEM for services to the community in Stafford, Ian Derek Mountfourt was given one for services in Stoke-on-Trent particularly during Covid-19, Adam Ralph Prince was recognises for services to the community in Burnham.
And Barry Michael Bond was recognised for services to the voluntary and charitable sectors.
Councillor Phil Hewitt, vice-chairman of the authority who hosted the event, said: "It was a great privilege for me to host these presentations and honour these fantastic people, who have done so much for our communities.
"They have all made invaluable contributions in their services and it was a great pleasure to see them receive such prestigious recognition from Her Majesty for their hard work given over many years."
