Angus volunteers recognised for service to the community
A group of dedicated Angus volunteers have been recognised for their service to the local community, by receiving special awards.
The twelve Angus residents, who all volunteer as Community First Responders with St John Scotland, were recently surprised with the awards when they attended one of their regular training sessions.
Ricky Laird, Community Resilience Team Leader from the Scottish Ambulance Service, presented seven of the volunteers with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in recognition of their service of five years or more.
A further five volunteers were presented with the Queen’s Jubilee Coin, in recognition of their service of less than five years.
As Community First Responders, the volunteers are trained by the Scottish Ambulance Service to respond to life-threatening emergencies across the local area. They are on call on a regular basis, and are tasked with responding to a wide range of emergency incidents, including cardiac arrest.
Ricky Laird, Community Resilience Team Leader at the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "Our Community First Responder volunteers in Angus do a fantastic job, reaching potential life-threatening emergencies in the first vital minutes before the ambulance crew arrives. I’m therefore really pleased their service has been acknowledged with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal and Platinum Jubilee Coins. It was my honour to present them with their awards, as we are very grateful for their dedication and hard work in saving lives."
Coordinator of the St John Scotland Community First Responder groups in Angus, Lynn Lawrence, also received special recognition for her contribution, with no less than three further awards.
62-year-old Lynn, from Carnoustie, was presented the Scottish Ambulance Service 10 year service pin, in recognition of her service since becoming a Community First Responder in 2012.
In the same week, she received the news that she is to be awarded the Royal Lifesaving Society’s UK Merit Honour award and UK Service Honour award. She will be presented with these awards at a ceremony in Coventry in October.
On receiving news of the awards, Lynn said she was proud but shocked, adding: "It has come totally unexpectedly and out of the blue."
Chair of St John Scotland's Angus & Dundee team of volunteers, Sandy Bowman, said: "I wish many congratulations to all the recipients of these awards and I am really proud and appreciative of all that they do for our local communities. The fact that the eligibility criteria for the award of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal specifically includes volunteers working with the emergency services, demonstrates the high esteem of the voluntary activities undertaken by our Community First Responders in the Angus & Dundee area.
“They perform a crucial role in the communities in which they operate in Angus, providing prompt responses to medical emergencies where time is of the essence. It’s a great example of St John Scotland’s ethos of ‘saving lives together’, and real teamwork in action for the benefit of the community. These awards are a real credit to all of the team and of course a great effort by all involved in respect of the aims of St John Scotland.”
The full list of those who received awards is:
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal: Lynn Lawrence, Bill Mulligan, Angus Robb, James Williamson, Claire McIntosh, Colin Beedie, James Carmichael
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Coin: Gordon Dunlop, Ashley McGregor, Kimberley Cadger, Arlene Dickson, Megan Smith.