Several people from across Dunbartonshire were honoured at an Investiture Ceremony in Bearsden by the Lord-Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire, Mrs Jill Young MBE last month.
The special ceremony was hosted in Kilmardinny House, Bearsden by East Dunbartonshire Provost Alan Brown.
The following people were invested:
|
Award |
Name |
When awarded |
|---|---|---|
|
Military MBE |
Lt Commander Ian McInnes RN from Bishopbriggs |
Queen's Birthday 2020 |
|
BEM |
Margarita Sweeney-Baird from Bearsden |
New Year 2020 |
|
BEM |
Parminder Purewal from Bearsden |
Queen's Birthday 2020 |
|
BEM |
Elizabeth Saunders from Helensburgh |
New Year 2021 |
|
BEM |
Thomas Herbert from Lenzie |
Queen's Birthday 2021 |
Here's some background on the recipients:
- Lieutenant Commander McInnes is an engineering officer in Her Majesty’s Submarine Service and was honoured after demonstrating the utmost dedication, professional integrity and exceptional leadership on-board a submarine during a demanding maintenance period, before being instrumental in the success of the submarine’s subsequent sea training and operational deployment.
- Mrs Margarita Sweeney-Baird has been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to skating. A former Scottish Ladies Figure Skating champion, she recognised that there was no provision, competition or facility for young, disabled or impaired people to enjoy skating and she set up Inclusive Skating in 2010 to address this issue. Now, there is a fully recognised British championship and in 2017, four skaters from the Time Capsule, Coatbridge were chosen to join Team GB at the Special Olympics in Austria, gaining two gold medals. The club system and framework of Inclusive Skating has been adopted by numerous clubs across the world.
- Parminder Purewal has been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the hospitality industry, the Normandy Hotel, Renfrew and the local community. He has been instrumental in turning the hotel around into a prosperous and profitable business and under Parminder’s stewardship The Normandy Hotel has given tens of thousands of pounds to local charities and community groups, starting with a Christmas Night to support the Yorkhill Children’s Foundation and Macmillan’s Cancer Support. They also support Brightest Star, a charity supporting parents trying to cope with the loss of a young child and St Vincent’s Hospice.
- Elizabeth Saunders had been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the Residential Community in Waverley Court, Helensburgh. Waverley Court is a Bield Housing and Care Home providing retirement housing for older people and strives for the balance of a place of independent living and a secure environment where the loneliness of ageing is banished. Elizabeth has been the manager there for the last 25 years, caring for the 28 residents who actually nominated her for the award as they wanted her to be nationally recognised for her outstanding care and dedication to their every need. She organises and attends the many and varied events which take place in Waverly Court which have resulted in many thousands of pounds being raised for local and national charities including Breast Cancer Care, the Beatson Cancer Centre, Macmillan Nurses, the Children’s Hospice at Balloch and Erskine Hospital for Veterans.
- Tom Herbert has been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the Provision of Chemotherapy Services in East Dunbartonshire and to Purchasing in Universities. He was inspired to become involved after the experiences his own family unit had endured when having to travel from East Dunbartonshire to the Beatson in the west end of Glasgow as the nearest place to receive chemotherapy treatment. He has doggedly and devotedly presented well-researched and evidence-based arguments for the reinstatement of chemotherapy services at Stobhill after they were withdrawn 18 years ago and not reinstated at the new Stobhill seven years later. His persistent lobbying has gone to the highest levels and it is undoubtedly through his efforts that last year, 10 years after the new Stobhill opened, it was being included in plans for developing the model for a hub to provide cancer therapies across the West of Scotland.
Lord-Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire, Jill Young MBE, presented the honours on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen and said, "It was with great pleasure that, on Her Majesty’s behalf, I had the privilege to carry out the Investiture Ceremony of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and to formally present the Badge of Order to these very worthy recipients. They have all worked tirelessly to make an incredible and lasting impact in their community and profession. I congratulate them for their dedication, hard work and achievement of their Awards"
Provost Alan Brown added, “It was a privilege to host this very special event and to be in such exceptional company. Those who received these prestigious awards did so because of years and years of dedicated service in their field. They are all remarkable in their own way and I was delighted to be a part of their special day."
The Investiture was also attended by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire; Linda Moffat RD DL; Deputy Lieutenants Andrew Nicholson (Chairman of the Honours and Awards Committee); Ian Dickson BEM; James Rogers; Anne O’Hagan CA; Dr Gill Aitkenhead MBE; and Tom Finnigan JP, the Provost of Argyll and Bute Council, Councillor David Kinniburgh and by friends and family of the recipients.
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