(For distinguished and outstanding service in the Health Sector)

Dr. Martin Didier has had a long career in the field of medicine in Saint Lucia, a career that has spanned thirty-four years, the first four of which was spent as a District Medical Officer based in Vieux Fort, and the last twenty-five as Consultant Physician and Head of Internal Medicine at Victoria Hospital. He has been in the vanguard of many of the developments that have taken place in the national health sector, providing leadership, guidance and advice at all levels of the system and on many Committees, Associations and Foundations. He is a founding member of the privately-owned Tapion Hospital, the St. Lucia Allergy and Asthma Foundation, the Saint Lucia Heart, Lung and Blood Foundation, and Victoria’s Friends, a non-governmental community group which supports the work of Victoria Hospital.

During the course of his distinguished career, he has served as President of the Medical and Dental Association; as Medical Advisor of the National Tuberculosis Programme; as Chairman of the Health Committee of the National Community Foundation; as Chairman of the National Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee; as Patron of the St. Lucia Diabetic and Hypertensive Association; as Medical Director of both the Victoria Hospital’s Renal Unit and the Tapion Hospital’s Island Dialysis Unit, and as Co-Chair of the National Commission on Chronic Non Communicable Diseases.

Dr. Didier’s contribution has not been confined to the national health system. He has played a pioneering role in the development of the regional health sector, as a founding member of the Caribbean Allergy and Respiratory Association and the Caribbean Society of Myology and Rare Diseases, among others. He has served as the President of the Caribbean Cardiac Society and as a Director of the Caribbean Heart Institute Foundation. Further afield, he has served as a Scientific Council member of the American Heart Association, as a member of the Association of Black Cardiologists of America, and as a Director of the Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Control of the United States of America.

Dr. Didier graduated with a Doctorate in Internal Medicine from the University of the West Indies in 1990, and has since made this Specialisation his passion and his life. His achievements and his contribution to the field of medicine have been recognized by leading professional bodies world-wide. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology. For his commitment and dedication to the development and advancement of Saint Lucia’s health care system, for the many years of voluntary service which he has given to improve and promote the quality of health care in his native country, and for his contribution to the field of medicine in the region and beyond, Dr. Didier has been awarded the Saint Lucia Cross.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Honourable Dr. George Martin Christopher Didier.

Mr. Dunstan Emmanuel Stephen DuBoulay, MBE

(For outstanding contribution to the economic, social, educational and cultural development of Saint Lucia)

Mr. Dunstan DuBoulay is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of a family-owned business-DuBoulay’s Bottling Co Ltd; an enterprise which under his astute leadership has grown over the course of the past thirty-five years from a small company servicing the local Saint Lucia market to an export-oriented, state-of-the-art world-class operation. Despite his preoccupation with the operation and expansion of the business, he has remained firmly committed to the overall development of his country. This is manifested in the substantial financial resources which both he and the Company have injected into the sponsorship of many sporting, social and cultural development initiatives as well as in his numerous commitments on public and Statutory Boards and corporations since the late seventies. The two sponsorships which stand well above the rest are the Coca-Cola Junior International Tennis Tournament and National Cricket Championship which he has sustained for thirty unbroken years. These sponsorships he regards as an investment in the youth and consequently in the future of our country.

His record of public service is impressive. He has served as a Senator and Minister for Trade and Industry; as a Director and Deputy Chairman of the National Development Corporation; as a Director of St. Lucia Model Farms and the St. Lucia development Bank; as Chairman of the St. Lucia Fisheries Complex. But perhaps his most enduring service in the public sector has been his Chairmanship of the Water and Sewerage Authority for fourteen years from 1982 to 1996 when he developed and implemented the capital programme which brought pipe-borne potable water to every town and village on the island. This programme included the creation of the Rodney Bay Sewerage Treatment Facility at Beausejour, the expansion and upgrading of the Thomas R. Theobalds water treatment plant at Ciceron and the John Compton Dam at Roseau.

Mr. DuBoulay has been described as “a shining example of what a good corporate citizen should be.” His commitment to the development of his country is unwavering as he sets his sights on more business ventures aimed at further enhancing the economic, social and cultural landscape of Saint Lucia.

For his fine record of public service and his significant contribution to the economic, social, cultural and educational development of Saint Lucia, Mr. Dunstan Emmanuel Stephen DuBoulay has been awarded the Saint Lucia Medal of Honour, Gold.

The Saint Lucia Medal of Honour (Gold)

Mr. Nick Troubetzkoy is the Chairman, Managing Director and owner of the two world-renowned and award-winning resorts – Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain. Originally from Alberta, Canada, he came to Saint Lucia in 1970 to take up a position as an associate at a Saint Lucian architectural firm. What was meant to be a brief stint in a tropical paradise quickly turned into a long and abiding passion for the island and her people. Saint Lucia soon became his home; eventually he became a citizen of the country to which he had taken such a liking.

From these early days in the 1970’s, Anse Chastanet has grown from a small 12 room hotel to a 49 room world renowned Caribbean resort with an impressive and long list of awards to its name. In 2006, Jade Mountain with its 26 Sanctuaries was added, taking Saint Lucia’s tourism product and offerings to a whole new level. For more than 35 years, Anse Chastanet, Jade Mountain, Adventure St. Lucia, Kayak St. Lucia, Bike St. Lucia, Jungle Reef Adventures, Scuba St. Lucia and Kai Bèltè, Kai Mer and Kai en Ciel Spas have had an enormous impact on the community of Soufriere, providing long-term economic stability in an area that is still among the lesser developed areas of Saint Lucia.

Mr. Troubetzkoy fervently believes in creating linkages between tourism and other sectors in the economy, and therefore many local farmers, fisherfolk, craftsmen, artisans, labourers, tour guides, taxi drivers and vendors have benefited from the growth of Anse Chastanet, Jade Mountain and the other Tourism –related services that he offers.

Over the years that Mr. Troubetzkoy has lived and worked in Soufriere, he has touched many lives and in so doing, has helped to shape and nurture his community. He was a Founding Director and Chairman of the organization that has now evolved into the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation and the initiative that has now become the Soufriere Marine Management Area.

His efforts in the development of the tourism sector over a period of 40 years have helped to put Saint Lucia on the map as a tourist destination. With the creation of Jade Mountain he has given Saint Lucia a unique landmark, that to some is almost as memorable as the alluring Pitons themselves.

For his significant contribution to the tourism sector in Saint Lucia, Mr. Nick Troubetzkoy has been awarded the Saint Lucia Medal of Honour, Gold.

(For sterling contribution in the Performing Arts)

If ever there was a cultural nationalist, Carlton Ishmael fits the bill. He has been associated with the performing Arts all his life. As an accomplished Dancer and Drummer, his name is synonymous with groups such as the ‘Petit Sent Lisí’ dance group and the ‘Lapo Kabwit’ drummers.

Carlton Ishmael has taught dance his entire adult life, excelling in discovering new dancers and bringing out of them their most hidden steps. Similarly, he has delighted in introducing his fellow drummers to aspects of their craft that stretched beyond their normal imagination.

This extraordinary dancer and drummer also has a very humorous side, as can be seen each year at carnival. Carlton is an annual staple in the creative portrayal of ‘Ole Mas’, each and every year finding his best way of telling us what we all know, but in ways we would never have imagined.

Lest we be fooled into thinking that Carlton Ishmael is all play and no work, he is a trainer of Tourism Tour Guides and an inspector of local product and service quality standards, with over a quarter of a century of work in the business. He has also been a relentless advocate for the revival of local handicraft production, to qualitatively differentiate Saint Lucia’s souvenirs form the normal Caribbean fare. In fact, Carlton has spent most of his life nourishing the creative and essential link between Culture and Tourism. Ever innovative in his pursuit of communication with the real person inside every one of us, Carlton continues to perfect his own art of telling our story every weekend through his writing in the national newspapers.

The son of a stern ‘Bajan’ policeman and a proud Praslin fish vendor, Carlton Ishmael’s stature on the national stage of Performing Arts is unquestionable. These days he still performs on the cultural tourism stage, more quietly than he did before, but equally effectively, never missing a chance to join the precious few who still seek to tell our story to our visitors in song and dance, with words, beats and rhythms hitherto unheard, hitherto unknown.

For his sterling contribution in the Performing Arts, Mr. Carlton Mc Millan has been awarded the Saint Lucia Medal of Merit, Gold.

(For long and meritorious service in the field of Volunteerism)

Ms Simone Cecilia Mondesir has consistently provided a remarkable service to her community of Soufriere. For several decades, she has been the most visible exemplar of volunteerism in her community through the leadership she has provided in the Soufriere chapter of national organisations like the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO), the Saint Lucia National Trust, the Saint Lucia Red Cross, and the Girl Guide and Ranger Association. Indeed, she is credited as being the most ardent contributor to the existence and longevity of many of these community-based organisations.

Ms Mondesir is the Chairperson of the Soufriere Disaster Committee, and it is perhaps in this role that she has made the most enduring contribution. In the aftermath of Hurricane Tomas which devastated Saint Lucia and most notably the community of Soufriere in 2010, she co-ordinated the Volunteer Response Team in the management of emergency shelters in Fond St Jacques and the town of Soufriere, and in the cleaning of homes of the disaster victims. Together with other volunteers from the Good News Project for Soufriere and the Rotary Club of Gros Islet she helped identify those who needed homes, food and clothing. She continues to do so to this day as recovery has proven to be long and arduous. In the aftermath of the 2013 Christmas Eve Trough, Ms Mondesir was once again in the forefront assisting the people of the community who were affected by the flood waters or who needed medical care and attention.

Ms Mondesir has been described as an outstanding professional, mentor, teacher and counsellor in the various roles she has undertaken in her community of Soufriere. For her long and voluntary contribution in the service of her community, Ms Mondesir has been awarded the Saint Lucia Medal of Merit (Silver).

(For dedicated service to the Community in the field of Education)

Miss Andrea Bourne attended the Canon Laurie Anglican Primary School in Castries and began teaching there immediately after ending her primary education at the age of fourteen and remained there until her retirement in 2006. Throughout her career Miss Bourne was determined that the school maintained a strong level of discipline and academic accomplishment. She encouraged her teaching staff to attain professional qualifications and higher academic achievement for themselves and the students; and as a lover of the arts and culture, she inspired the teaching and study of drama, poetry and essay writing at the school.

Her dedication to the preservation of Saint Lucia’s cultural history led her to becoming a founding member of the Folk Research Centre (FRC) in 1973, and remains an active spokesperson for the organisation.

For dedicated service to the Community in the field of Education, Miss Andrea Bourne has been awarded the Saint Lucia Les Pitons Medal (Gold).

(For long standing contribution to Education and Community Development)

Mrs Peternise Stephens spent over forty years in the teaching profession as both a primary and secondary school teacher, serving along the way as Acting Principal and Principal. As Principal she successfully steered the schools at which she served through the transition from single sex Primary School to mixed sex Junior Primary School; and was instrumental in dealing with the challenges brought on as a result of the amalgamation of both the Vieux Fort Junior and Senior Primary Schools to form the Vieux Fort Primary School where she served for seven years as Principal before her retirement in 2000.

Mrs Stephens continues to contribute to her community through her membership of several cultural groups and service organisations such as the Catholic Youth Organisation (CYO), the Red Cross, and the Vieux Fort Lions Club where she undertook the administration of the Vieux Fort Lions’ Pre-School.

For long standing contribution to Education and Community Development, Mrs Peternise Stephens has been awarded the Saint Lucia Les Pitons Medal (Silver).

(For long and dedicated service to Education and Community Development)

Mrs Marylene Margaret John-Marquis gave thirty-eight years of dedicated service in the field of education before her retirement in 2008. Throughout her career, she displayed a strong sense of professionalism and commitment in her work and encouraged and demanded the best from both students and teachers under her supervision as Teacher, Principal and Curriculum Education Officer for District VII. As Curriculum Education Officer she organised professional development sessions for principals and teachers through District Conferences and individuals and teachers, past and present, were recognised for their work, efforts and successes during annual award ceremonies.

Mrs John-Marquis has and continues to assist her community through her participation as a local village and parish councillor, officer of several allied institutions and her active membership in various service and cultural groups.

For long and dedicated service to Education and Community Development, Mrs Marylene Margaret John-Marquis has been awarded the Saint Lucia Les Pitons Medal (Silver).

(For long and meritorious service in Education)

Mrs Marie Elizabeth Camilla Giraudy started teaching in 1952 at the Soufriere Girls Primary School before becoming a specialist teacher in Home Economics at eleven primary and three Junior Secondary Schools from Anse La Raye to Vieux Fort. She taught at the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School for twenty years from 1972, acting as its Principal on two occasions, before her retirement in 1992 after forty years in the teaching service.

Mrs Giraudy, affectionately referred to as “Ma G”, also gave thirty-seven years of valuable community service as an active member of the Vieux Fort Lion’s Club. She undertook numerous projects among which were giving cooking classes and teaching respect and etiquette to the young people in the community through the CUBS (Children United for a Better Society) programme; the building of bus shelters and homes for the needy; scholarship and food hamper drives and assisting in the establishment and management of the Vieux Fort Lions Preschool which, after almost thirty-eight years, continues to operate.

For long and meritorious service in Education, Mrs Marie Elizabeth Camilla Giraudy, has been awarded the Saint Lucia Les Pitons Medal (Bronze).

Mr Mathiaus David Polius served for 24 years as Deputy Director of the Audit Department, acting as the Director of Audit whenever the situation required. He was transferred in 2004 to the Police Department as Administrative Officer where he helped to strengthen its administrative system before his retirement from the Government Service in 2007.

Mr Polius also assisted various other allied institutions serving, for example, at various levels of the Board of the St Lucia Civil Service Cooperative Credit Union; as Chairman of the Central Finance Facility of the St Lucia Cooperative Credit Union League, and serving as Vice President of the National Consumers Association of St Lucia, a position he has held since 2010.

In recognition of his twenty-seven years of Public Service, Mr Mathiaus David Polius has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.

Ms. Claudia Elva commenced her career as an Accountant when she joined the Public Service on 12th November 1973 as a Temporary Clerk within the Accounts Section of the Ministry of Finance. Demonstrating a sense of purpose and character in the various positions and Ministries to which she was assigned, she excelled in her duties and moved up the ranks to the position of Accountant I, a position she held until her retirement in 2002.

During her tenure with the Public Service Ms. Elva also gave service to other allied institutions, such as the Civil Service Credit Union where she served as a member of the Board.

For twenty-nine years of Public Service, Ms. Claudia Elva has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.

Mrs Virginia Charles has had a long association with the Education Sector as a teacher and as a member of the St Lucia Teachers’ Union within which she held several positions and was instrumental in organising and conducting workshops in all the branches of the union on women’s issues.

Mrs Charles entered the teaching service in 1971, and from 1981 was attached to the Roseau Combined School until her retirement as its Principal in February 2014. As an educator she was a respected figure in her community, and was able to establish strong relationships and links with her staff, parents, students and corporate and private citizens in the wider community to ensure that the school over which she was given charge, and the Jacmel Adult Enrichment and Learning Centre where she was the Coordinator, were well equipped to carry out their mandate.

For the forty-seven years of devoted service to the teaching profession Mrs Virginia Charles has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.

Ms Winifred Ross joined the St Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority in February 1986 as a recruit and immediately began the Initial Police Training Course at the Police Training School at La Toc. As a member of the Ports Police she contributed to the development of the organisation as a founding member of the Port Police Welfare Association and continues to contribute by mentoring new and emerging constables of the Department.

For twenty-nine years of dedicated and committed service to the Ports Police and the St Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority, Ms Winifred Ross has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.

Station Officer Michael Charles joined the Fire Service on 16th April 1981. He was first assigned to the Vieux Fort Fire Station before his transfer to the Castries Fire Station, and rose through the ranks to the position of Station Officer.

Station Officer Charles has acted in the position of Assistant Divisional Officer on several occasions during his career in the Fire Service and had the honour of leading the Gros Islet Fire Station during its formative years. He currently holds the position of Station Officer in the Administrative Department at the St Lucia Fire Service Headquarters, where he continues to serve with distinction.

For thirty-three years of dedicated and committed service, Station Officer Michael Charles has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.

Station Officer Charles Jean enlisted in the Fire Service on 16th April 1981 and was first assigned to the St Lucia Fire Service Headquarters in Castries. Throughout his career he served in all divisions of the Fire Service, where he aptly demonstrated his skills and abilities to the tasks assigned. During his rise through the ranks he acted in the post of Assistant Divisional Officer on several occasions. He currently holds the portfolio of Officer-in-Charge of Training School alongside his position of Officer-in-Charge of the Crash Fire Hall at the George F L Charles Airport.

For thirty-three years of dedicated and committed service, Station Officer Charles Jean has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.

Mr Clinton Edward joined the Saint Lucia Prison Service on 1st July 1989. He worked in all units of the Service, interacting well with both its staff and inmates. In 2001 he was voted President of the Prison Association and during the two year period of his presidency his concern for the well-being and rehabilitation of the inmates contributed towards the transformation of the institution from a prison to a correctional-based system.

For twenty-five years of dedicated service to the Department of Corrections, Mr Clinton Edward has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.

(For eminent service of national importance in the field of social and pastoral work.)

Sr. Mary de Lourdes Lopez, a native of Trinidad and Tobago spent the greater part of her ministerial life as a Sister of the Sorrowful Mother in the service of the Catholic Church in Vieux Fort where she was first assigned in September 1971. For thirty- nine years she ministered at the St. Jude Hospital first as an Accountant and later as Hospital Administrator, and subsequently branched into pastoral care and work in the communities of Vieux Fort and Augier. Many of the older persons in the Parish of St. Francis Xavier, Augier and our Lady of the Assumption, Vieux Fort found in her the caring and security they needed. Homes for a few needy persons were built and improved through her efforts. Education for needy children received special attention from her as well, as she assisted many by meeting the cost of their CXC examinations.

It was in her pastoral work that she had the greatest impact. She ensured that the poor and under privileged received free medical care and attention. She raised funds to enable them to receive treatment at sister hospitals in the United States of America, and because of her association with the volunteers who worked at St. Jude, she was able to achieve much for the hospital, the poor and the needy.

Through her social work and outreach programme, she lived and practiced the virtues of feeding the hungry, taking care of the sick and visiting the elderly. For her selfless service to the Church she received the Papal Award Bene Merenti in 1993. She was suddenly called to eternal life on September 27th, 2014 in Grenada where she had been ministering for the last four years.

For her outstanding and dedicated service to St. Jude hospital, and to the People of the southern communities of Augier and Vieux Fort, Sr. Mary de Lourdes Lopez has been posthumously awarded the Saint Lucia Medal of Honour (Silver)

(For long and dedicated contribution in the field of Education)

Mr. Thomas Boulogne has given forty years of dedicated service to Saint Lucia in the field of Education. After a year of service as an Assistant Teacher at the Laborie Boys’ Primary School, he moved into the construction industry. Four years later and with considerable experience in the industry, he returned to the teaching service as Assistant Lecturer in Carpentry and Joinery at the Morne Fortune Technical College. It was at this same time that he took up studies leading to a Building Technician Diploma at the College, thus having the rare distinction of being both a tutor and a student at the College’s Graduation Ceremony for that academic year.

Mr. Boulogne is therefore in his fortieth year of providing quality tertiary education and training to individuals both locally and regionally at what is now the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, serving as Tutor, as Dean of the Division of Technical Education and Management Studies, as Acting Vice- Principal and Acting Principal. He has a passion for Technical Education and Training and has played a significant role in helping to remove the stigma that has traditionally been associated with TVET. He has provided quality leadership in that sub-sector and has helped attract significant resources to the College to enhance the delivery of TVET programmes and courses. Today, the Division of Technical Education and Management Studies is the largest and fastest growing Division of the College. Outside of the College, Mr. Boulogne provides leadership in the development of the TVET programme, having served four years as the first President of the St. Lucia Technical Vocational Educators Association; from 2009 to the present as Deputy Chairman of the St. Lucia TVET Council, and currently as a member of the OECS Tourism and Hospitality Training Task Force.

He is an active member of the St. Lucia Teachers’ Union, and a founding member of the St. Lucia Teachers’ Credit Cooperative established in 1984, on which he has served as Vice- President and President.

For his four decades of outstanding and dedicated service in the Teaching Service and in the Trade Union and Credit Cooperative Movements, Mr. Thomas Boulogne has been awarded the Saint Lucia Medal of Merit, Gold.

(For long and dedicated contribution in the field of Culture and the Arts)

Mr. Gandolph St. Clair has been a leader in the development of the Arts and Culture in Saint Lucia for many years. He is a writer of prose, poetry and drama; an actor, director and stage manager; a pioneer in film production and radio drama; a media personality employed by Radio St. Lucia as announcer and producer; a music composer and singer of various genres.

His publications by Abbeystone Productions include an anthology of poems “Reaching Out”; a novel “Firefall” and a play “The Third Umpire”. He has directed his own plays as well as those of regional and international playwrights and he has performed in such internationally acclaimed plays like Lorraine Hansberry’s “Raisin in the Sun”. Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” and “The Tempest” and Derek Walcott’s “The Haytian Earth”, as well as in Peter Benchley’s film “The Creature” which was filmed in Saint Lucia.

Mr. St. Clair worked for many years with the Cultural Development Foundation and its predecessor, the Department of Culture in the organization of many of our local festivals such as Carnival, the Flower Festivals of Lawòz and La Magwit, the Festival of Lights and the Festival of Carols and in the development and implementation of the Agency’s training programmes.

For his long and dedicated contribution to Culture and the Arts in Saint Lucia Mr. Gandolph St. Clair has been awarded the Saint Lucia Medal of Merit, Gold.

(For contribution to Culture and the Arts)

Mr. Niger Gregory Nestor is the Co-ordinator and Drumming Instructor of the Vide Bouteille Primary School Drumming Group and a Drumming Instructor in the Manmay-la Di Way Outreach Programme of the Saint Lucia School of Music. He is a founding member of the folk drumming group “San Nou” from Choiseul, and a member of the Chameleon Dance Troupe and the Lapo Kabwit Drumming Ensemble. He has performed locally, regionally and internationally with other notable groups like Wevolousyon, Rebel Soul, Kronic Heights, Les Enfants Dancers, Silver Shadow Dancers and Dezagwéyab in festivals such as the Maroon Festival in Carriacou; Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA); the Commonwealth Drumming Festival and the Francophonie Festival in Canada; the Rockland County Festival in New York and the World Festival of Black Arts and Culture on the African continent. He has facilitated workshops and productions here at home, and further afield, at Gallaudet University in Washington DC and in Ireland.

Mr. Nestor has won six individual Minvielle and Chastanet (M&C) Fine Arts awards, two individual Cultural Development Foundation (CDF) awards, as well as several awards from other groups and agencies.

For his contribution to the Arts and Culture, Mr. Niger Gregory Nestor has been awarded the Saint Lucia Medal of Merit, Silver.

(For contribution to Culture and the Performing Arts)

Mr. Barry Everton George is the founder and artistic director of one of Saint Lucia’s leading Dance companies, the Silver Shadow Performing Arts Academy which aims to create avenues for talented Saint Lucian youth in the performing arts. During the twenty - two years of the Academy’s existence, Mr. George has revolutionized St. Lucian Dance by fusing our traditional dance form with a modern touch, creating a new twist in St. Lucian folk dance. The Academy has produced a number of award winning productions which have all formed part of the annual Nobel Laureate Week programme of activities as his contribution to the celebration of excellence.

Mr. George has served for many years as a dance resource person for the Department of Culture, the Department of Youth and Sports and more recently, the Cultural Development Foundation. He has been very instrumental in the development of cheer-leading at the secondary school level, and has been playing a major role in bringing dance to the schools for festivals and celebrations like the Independence Schools’ Rallies, the schools’ theatre and dance festivals, the La Marguerite and schools’ Christmas concerts. He has lectured and conducted workshops and seminars for newly-established dance companies and has worked with community choirs and organisations in developing the artistic and performance abilities of their membership.

His artistry in dance is featured at a number of St. Lucian events and festivals, an expertise and professional competence which has earned him many an award.

For his contribution to Culture and the Performing Arts, Mr. Barry Everton George has been awarded the Saint Lucia Medal of Merit, Silver.

(For dedicated service to the Community in the treatment of HIV and AIDS)

Miss Maria Hilda Joan Didier, also known as Joan Didier, embarked on her 30 year career in the Public Health Sector in 1970. However, it is for her work as the Founder and Executive Director of the Aids Action Foundation, a voluntary organisation, that Miss Didier is better recognised. There she works tirelessly towards educating and training the public on HIV/AIDS awareness, reducing the spread of the disease and providing access to treatment and support for those people living with and affected by the virus. She was instrumental in contributing to the drafting of the National HIV/AIDS Policy for Saint Lucia in 2002 and spearheaded the development of a National HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy to combat discrimination against those infected with the disease.

For dedicated service to the Community in the treatment of HIV and AIDS, Miss Maria Joan Hilda Didier has been awarded the Saint Lucia Les Pitons Medal (Gold).

(For long and meritorious Community Service)

Mr Lucius Ellevic is well-known in Saint Lucia for his long association with various allied institutions and statutory boards on the island where he shared his firm belief that total community development could be achieved through the development of the co-operative sector which would in turn promote the financial development of its members and thereby the country. His belief in community development through the co-operative movement is very much in evidence in the Laborie community where the union of three local cooperatives resulted in the formation of a new community product in observance of World Food Day and a revamped and rebranded Laborie Fisherman’s Feast. The Laborie Credit Union is at the forefront of the revival of the traditional festivals of La Rose and la Marguerite which have been completely overhauled into becoming community extravaganzas, and the “coup de main” now involves the entire community on a voluntary basis in special projects such as building homes for the elderly.

For long and meritorious community service, Mr Lucius Ellevic has been awarded the Saint Lucia Les Pitons Medal (Gold).

(For long and dedicated service to Country and Community)

A native of Soufriere, Mrs Mary Lucy Matthias emigrated to London, United Kingdom in the mid 1960’s where she trained and worked as a nurse for over forty years before her retirement approximately four years ago.

She is the Chairman of the St Lucia Diabetes Project (UK) which she established in 2001, after becoming aware of the escalating number of people on the island suffering with diabetes and the lack of access to proper treatment and care available particularly to those living in the rural areas. The primary aim of the charity, which she registered with the UK Charity Commission, is to assist Saint Lucia’s health sector by promoting good health care to diabetes sufferers through the provision of ongoing medical support, equipment and aid. She successfully managed to achieve this through her indefatigable fund raising activities; gaining the support of specialist medical colleagues, friends and Saint Lucian nationals in the United Kingdom to donate their time to visit Saint Lucia to carry out health screening and much needed training to diabetes support staff and patients; and obtaining donations of foot care instruments and other essential supplies and equipment for the hospitals and health centres on the island.

In addition, assisted by her team of British volunteer specialist medical professionals, Mrs Matthias conducts biennial seminars/workshops and training sessions in Saint Lucia for frontline staff in diabetes, renal disease, tissue viability and wound care management. To date the St Lucia Diabetes Project (UK) has successfully supported and trained eighteen Saint Lucian health professionals and support staff, one of whom is now a qualified Foot Care Health Practitioner.

For long and dedicated service to Country and Community, Mrs Mary Lucy Matthias has been awarded the Saint Lucia Les Pitons Medal (Silver).

(For dedicated service in the field of Sports)

The name Bryan Gordon Calixte is well known to sports fans, due to his active involvement in cricket and sports broadcasting where he produced and presented the sports news for the morning sports segment on Radio Helen 100 FM and the HTS Television Evening News from 1999 to 2004; and from 2007 to the present, at Daher Broadcasting Service (DBS).

From his youth to the present, Mr Bryan Gordon Calixte has been involved in every aspect of the sport of cricket, where he successfully played and coached at the school and national level. Darren Sammy, Johnson Charles and Garey Mathurin are among the many cricket players coached by him who have made Saint Lucia proud at both the regional and international level. He is currently actively involved in coaching at the community level and oversees the West Indies Cricket Board Grassroots and Kiddy Cricket Programmes. As an administrator he has served as President of the Castries Cricket and St Lucia National Cricket Associations, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for Regional and International Matches and Cricket Operations Officer for 2013 Caribbean Premier League (CPL). He was also a member of the Local Organising Committee for T20 World Cup 2010.

For dedicated service in the field of Sports, Mr Bryan Gordon Calixte has been awarded the Saint Lucia Les Pitons Medal (Bronze).

(For lifelong dedication to Church, School and Community)

Ms Joan Smith, or “Teacher Joanie” as she is affectionately called, hails from the community of Mon Repos. Her formal teaching career started at the age of seventeen at the local preschool and daycare centre that her mother began sixty years earlier. Teacher Joanie continues to give dedicated and loyal service there as an administrator, educator and carer.

Ms Smith also taught catechism classes and was an active member of the Catholic Youth Organisation (CYO), and the Mon Repos 4H and Brownie movement. At the age of seventy-four, she continues to serve her church as a member of the choir and finance committee; and is a willing participant in the community Red Cross and Disaster Preparedness groups.

For lifelong dedication to Church, School and Community, Ms Joan Smith, has been awarded the Saint Lucia Les Pitons Medal (Bronze).

Mrs Marilyn Bain entered the teaching service in September 1971. Her first assignment was at the Marchand Combined School where she served for 25 years teaching the primary level classes. Her well known successes as a teacher of Standard 4 earned her a visit to the United States in 1987 as one of the sixteen effective teachers in St Lucia, under the late President Reagan’s Caribbean Basin Initiative.

Throughout her career Mrs Bain ensured that she put the knowledge she obtained during her professional development to work towards the successes of her students and other teachers. This was very much in evidence when, within three years of her appointment as Principal of the Bexon Primary School in 1996, she turned what was then a poor performing school into one of the top performers in District Four catchment area.

For forty-three years of dedicated service to the teaching profession, Mrs Marilyn Bain has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.

Inspector Wesley Joseph enlisted in the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force on 1st August 1978, serving in various departments and units of the Force and diligently working his way up the ranks. Although he acted in positions of greater responsibility when called upon to do so, he spent the greater part of his career attached to the Police Marine Unit serving as its Deputy Commander up to the time of his retirement.

In 1994 the then Sergeant Joseph attended an International Small Ships Command Course in the United States of America. At the end of that course his report from the Royal Navy Commander stated: “His high personal standards and professional competence portrays Joseph as an excellent ambassador for Saint Lucia and its Coastguard service.” The continuation of those standards throughout his career in the execution of his duties ensured that he commanded a high level of respect from within the Police Marine Unit.

In recognition of thirty-six years of dedicated service within the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, Inspector Wesley Joseph has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.

Corporal 153 Michael Charles enlisted in the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force on 1st February 1979 after completing his training at the regional Police Training Centre in Barbados. He was assigned to various departments of the Police Force, including the Royal Guard Unit at Government House, and performed all his assigned duties with a high level of professionalism and dedication to duty.

Corporal 153 Charles also served as a member of the Police Youth Club for many years, where he helped to mentor and shape the lives of many young men and women. His work with the Club and its youth led to his transfer to the Community Relations Branch where he continued his contribution towards the development of the nation’s youth.

In recognition of his dedicated service within the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force and the community, Corporal 153 Michael Charles has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.

Mr David Maitre joined the St Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority as a recruit in February 1986 and worked his way up the ranks to his present position as Deputy Chief of Ports Police – Northern Division.

His specialised training, particularly in Anti-Terrorism Security and Aviation and Maritime Security Management among others, has enabled him to provide assistance in formulating policies to maintain and enhance security measures at all of Saint Lucia’s air and sea ports as well as ensuring adherence to security procedures. Mr Maitre is currently instrumental in the development and delivery of in-house Civil Aviation and Maritime training programmes for Ports Police at all levels from recruits to managers.

For twenty-nine years of dedicated and committed service to the Ports Police and the St Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority, Mr David Maitre has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.

Ms Jacinta Joseph joined the Saint Lucia Prison Service on 15th January 1989 after serving two years at the St Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority. Miss Joseph has worked in all areas of the Correctional Facility, exercising good supervisory skills and relating well to both staff and inmates alike. Her concern for the well-being of the inmates was apparent in her approach to their rehabilitation.

For twenty-six years of dedicated service to the Department of Corrections, Ms Jacinta Joseph has been awarded the Saint Lucia Public Service Long Service Medal.