MBEs for local expats
Queen awards three MBEs to charity volunteers
HER Majesty the Queen has recognised the dedication and service to the British expat community in Spain of three charity volunteers on the Costa Blanca in the New Year’s honours list.
Elaine Horton, President of Jalon Valley Help; Candy Wright, President of Help of Denia and the Marina Alta; and Ricky Garland, a volunteer of Help Vega Baja, were made a Member of the Order of British Empire – an award given for ‘outstanding achievement of service in the community’.
The honours were a wellkept secret, each of the three was contacted in November by British Ambassador Simon Manley to see if they would accept the award.
And after the news was made public as the honours list was made published, Mr Manley said: “I am delighted that the commitment and compassion of Ricky Garland, Elaine Horton and Candida Wright have been recognised by Her Majesty the Queen in this way, after so many years of service to British nationals in Spain.”
This week both Elaine and Candy told CBNews of their pride at being honoured and paid tribute to the hard work of the teams of volunteers for the two branches of Help.
Elaine said, “It is all very well for me to pick up a gong, yes I am very proud, privileged and overwhelmed – but the people who are in the front line are the people who get you there, you are only as good as the people who are around you.”
And Candy, who is also president of Careline Theatre which raises money for good causes and works with victims of domestic violence, said, “It doesn’t just encompass me but all the people I work with; it highlights Help and all the work the charity does.”
Both have been inundated with messages of congratulations from ‘thrilled’ family, friends, and colleagues in the charity teams.
Pride
Candy added “I just wish my mum and dad were here to know about this, my brother and sister have said they are so very proud...mum and dad would have been beside themselves with pride.
“I first spoke with my husband, daughter and son and my brother who asked if I had told my Uncle Peter, who is 97 – I rang the UK and my uncle said ‘Oh my god, a Wright with an MBE, it is wonderful news’.”
Elaine said, “We have two sons back in the UK, the youngest one is not our natural son but came to us when he was eight, and he is absolutely beside himself.”
Elaine and husband Richard both worked for social services in Dorset in senior positions before retiring and she said, “As far as I am concerned, you do what you do, you do what is right. You try and make a difference; that’s what it is about, you do not expect accolades.”
Both can expect the award to be presented by a member of the Royal Family at either Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, they have received the necessary protocol and Elaine joked: “I am dreading to have to curtsey in heels.”
Candy, who won a ‘points of light’ award two years ago for her charity work, has been president of Help for four years. She came to live in Spain as a teenager in 1973 and works as a professional translator.
She said the charity continued to grow and work closely with other expat and Spanish associations and pro- fessional bodies.
“We are a minority in this country and need to encompass and embrace where we live; we need to work with the Spanish, there are things out there like social services and expat pensioners and disabled people, for example, can access this,” she said.
Awareness
“I think my biggest contribution is bringing much more awareness of Help and its work to the Marina Alta – that was my intention; awareness means funding and helping more people. Help has grown so we help people of any nationality.
“It is all about what you give and what you get back. The important thing for me is the community and working together and with other charities.”
Elaine has lived in Spain for 17 years and had been at the helm of Help for over six – she believes the charity must never stagnate but push forward “and our volunteers step up to the mark every single time.”
She said it was more than just raising money to donate to good causes but developing a strategy to help people, especially with an aging population in the area.
“When looking after people and providing emotional support, taking people to hospital and helping people when they are ill, or dying or their partner is dying; that brings responsibilities and the whole issue of sustainability is vital,” added Elaine.
“It is no good saying ‘we will do this’ and six months down the line finding we do not have the finance to do it.
“You have to make significant changes and sometimes deal with difficult things – but there is also the joy of it all, for instance when someone you have helped walks into one of our shops and says ‘I am now cancer free’.”