Business leaders, wildlife enthusiasts and charity pioneers are among the 10 people from the Highlands and Moray on the New Year’s Honours list.
This year several community heroes were given honours for their dedication and determination in their respective fields.
Some were so shocked when they received the news they thought it was a prank.
Check out the full list of recipients from the Moray, Inverness and the Highlands.
Inverness
OBE
Stewart Nicol the former chief executive of the Inverness Chambers of Commerce has been honoured with an OBE for services to the economy of the Highlands. He hails from Inverness.
Read more about Stewart Nicol here.
MBE
Fiona Bennett Morrison, from Beauly, was the Community Fund manager for Scottish and Southern Electricity Renewables and has received an MBE for services to the community in the Scottish Highlands.
BEM
Robert Coburn is the Scottish Area vice chairman of the Royal Naval Association and has been recognised for his voluntary service to veterans and the community in Inverness-shire.
Just 10 days after former naval officer was given the news he’d be receiving the BEM in the New Year’s Honours, he passed away. Read the full story here.
KAM
Alistair Macdonald, of Inverness, has been awarded the King’s Ambulance Service Medal, having shown exceptional devotion to duty, merit and conduct.
The dad-of-two, and granddad of four, joined the Scottish Ambulance Service in Inverness 13 years ago and when hearing the news thought it was a “wind up”.
He said: “I was at work when I received the notification – I thought someone was winding me up, it was a complete surprise.
“But once I saw it was real, I was very proud and thoroughly delighted. It came out of the blue and it’s very nice to be recognised.”
Moray
OBE
Roy Dennis a prominent wildlife conservationist based in Forres has now been honoured with an OBE after previously being recognised with an MBE back in 1992 for his tireless dedication to wildlife conservation and research.
Mr Dennis says the honour is not just for him but for the work that he does in protecting biodiversity across Scotland.
He said: “It is recognition that the work we are doing is really valuable. I admit it [the OBE] came out of the blue but I hope it is shows the work is a credit to the people of Scotland.”
As a avid conservationist he says he admires King Charles for being vocal about issues such as climate change and the issues facing the planet.
He says that when he was young no one wanted to listen to the warnings but he is pleased to see attitudes are changing, especially among young people.
BEM
John MacKintosh is a fundraiser for Cancer Research UK and has been commended for his voluntary services to cancer patients and the community of Elgin.
Also honoured for her work with cancer patients is Veronica Maclean, a patron of the Moray Fundraising Group for Marie Curie who works with patients in Elgin.
Highlands
BEM
The Reverend Maureen Margaret Wilson, from Nairn, a member of the NHS Highland Health and Social Care chaplaincy team, has been honoured for services to Health and Wellbeing.
Dr Jill Stoner is chairwoman of the Cromarty Care Project and for her work in the Cromarty community, she has received a BEM.
She says the honour is to all the hard work she and her team of trustees and volunteers have carried out to help others in the community.
On receiving the news, she was suspicious at first. She said: “I thought it was a hoax at first, but when I got a phone call telling me the news I realised it wasn’t and so I was rather stunned.
“I feel a little embarrassed at it being a personal honour as all the work the Cromarty Car Project do is part of a wider team. It feels nice to be honoured in this way.”
MBE
Nicholas Gardner has received an MBE for charitable services in Scotland. He is from Achnasheen in Ross and Cromarty.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen-aberdeenshire/6311451/new-years-honours-for-aberdeen-aberdeenshire/
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