In King Charles III’s recently published New Year’s Honours list, Rotary Great Britain and Ireland were delighted to see the efforts of it’s members recognised once again.
Joyce Fraser – Bromley Rotary Club
Joyce Fraser was awarded an OBE by King Charles III for her achievements in ‘services to the promotion of Black History and Heritage’.
Joyce Fraser OBE is the Founder of the Black Heroes Foundation.
Joyce is the Founder of the Black Heroes Foundation, a community-based charity that helps develop and promote talent through youth, education, training, social up-lifting and personal development programmes.
The Foundation was set up by Joyce in 2016 to preserve the legacy of her late husband Peter Randolph Fraser (AKA ‘Flip’ Fraser), the first editor of The Voice Newspaper, and creator of the iconic show ‘Black Heroes in the Hall of Fame’.
Joyce also lectures for the Open Univeristy Business School and is on the Board of Trustees for the Institute of Fund Raising (IOF) and Directory of Social Change (DSC).
Furthermore, Joyce represents the Black Heroes Foundation as a member of the Windrush 75 Network, a steering group currently planning on making 2023 a year of celebrating the 75 year anniversary of the HMS Windrush docking at Tilbury.
When receiving her OBE, Joyce was particularly touched that King Charles III acknowledging her late husband’s work and contribution towards the conservation of black heritage and history.
Keith Fossey – The Rotary Club of Nene Valley
Northampton Rotarian Keith Fossey was awarded an MBE and was presented with the award by Princess Anne.
Keith has been Chairman of Swaziland Schools Projects for 10 years.
Keith was honoured for over 22 years of voluntary work with a UK charity called Swaziland Schools Projects (SSP). He has been Chair for 10 years and Operations Manager for 15 years.
The charity raises money in the UK and then supports education in Eswatini, (previously known as Swaziland). The project works to get children into education so they can escape poverty and to inspire them to look forward to a rewarding adult life.
In addition to paying school fees for orphans and vulnerable children, the charity builds classrooms, toilets, teacher’s houses and much more.
Eswatini is about the size of Wales and has a population of around 1.1 million. It has the highest HIV infection rate in the world with 27% of the population infected by the disease. Over 60% live beneath the poverty level.
When Keith and his wife Liz started going to Eswatini, the life expectancy was 30. It is now about 57 because anti retro viral medicine (to stop HIV developing into AIDS) is more readily available and because schools are educating children about it.
Keith accepted the award on behalf of all the Trustees who have served on the UK Board of Trustees over 23 years and for the team of volunteers in Eswatini.
Peter King – Kew Gardens Rotary
Peter, who has been a member of Kew Gardens Rotary since 1984 and also served a term as President of Rotary Great Britain & Ireland, has been awarded a British Empire Medal for his service to church and community in South London.
Peter King has been a member Kew Gardens Rotary since 1984.
Peter was President of his Rotary club twice, as well as holding the roles of international chairman, community and vocational chairman and extension officer.
He was also an ambassador for youth opportunities and brought his passion for Rotary’s place in peacebuilding and conflict resolution into focus during his time as Rotary Great Britain & Ireland President.
Outside of Rotary, Peter has held a variety of prestigious roles during his life, including being a barrister, upper tribunal judge, mediator and army lawyer.
Peter was ordained a priest in 1981 as a Minister in Secular Employment [MSE] or “worker priest”.
Although most clergy in the Church of England are full time and paid a stipend, there are a number who work in the secular environment and seek in their ministry to link church with the wider community.
Peter has worked in parishes and also in dioceses (districts under the pastoral care of a bishop), largely to give support to other members of his clergy who are balancing work with church duties.
Senia Dedić – Battersea Park Rotary
Included in the list is Senia Dedić, member and Past-President of Battersea Park Rotary, London, as well as the Trustee of the club’s Rotary International charity account.
Senia Dedić is a member of Battersea Park Rotary.
Senia has been helping the elderly residents of Battersea for over 15 years, especially during the pandemic, and she has now been recognised with a British Empire Medal.
Senia left Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovinia, during the Bosnian War in 1992 to start a new life in London.
By 2003, Senia had obtained a BA Honours in Business Economy and International Trading and a later Post Graduate Degree in Social Science with Open University, all while founding UBRIS Business Consultancy.
She is also the Founder and CEO of Women of Wandsworth, a community organisation made up of local mums who campaign for a better life for Wandsworth residents.
Other positions Senia holds include being Chair of the Steering Committee for Contact, a charity supporting families with disabled children, and being an Executive Partnership Member of Big Local SW11, a resident-led group in charge of spending £1 million to improve the Battersea area.
Anthony Allchurch – Rotary Club of Jersey
Anthony Allchurch was also a recipient of of a British Empire Medal for his services to the community as part of the Rotary Club of Jersey.
Anthony was introduced to Rotary in 1987 by the late Colin Powell MBE and was an active working member until redundancy in 2004 opened up exciting opportunities to explore new projects and new challenges, both in Jersey and overseas.
Anthony Allchurch is a member of the Rotary Club of Jersey.
Anthony was instrumental in the work to get Jersey designated as a Rotary Peace Island and chaired the Club’s Peace Committee for many years, promoting peace domestically and internationally, culminating in 2015 when Jersey was officially declared a Rotary Peace Island in a ceremony attended by then Rotary GB&I President, Peter King, and the Chief Minister of Jersey.
On the subject of peace, Anthony played a key role in the inauguration of the Rotary Student Peace Debate in 2014, a prestigious annual event that allows sixth-form students to debate important topics in the States Chamber, the home of Jersey’s Parliament.
He has also been active in the campaign to raise funds for polio immunisation, travelling to India for National Immunisation Day and witnessing first-hand the successful efforts to suppress the disease and has been at the forefront of the Club’s fundraising and awareness for this important cause for many years.
As Chairman of the Jersey Fairtrade Island Group, Anthony has fought tirelessly to solidify Jersey’s reputation as a Fairtrade Island, organising speakers from all over the world to come to Jersey and talk about the impact that fair pricing of food makes on the overseas communities who produce it in schools.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of persuading the community to support the positive aims of alleviating poverty in other parts of the world,” he said, adding that the ethos of providing a hand-up rather than a handout had been given additional impetus by awareness that Fairtrade suppliers were at the forefront of struggles to reduce the impact of the planet’s carbon footprint.
Congratulations to everyone on their inclusion! Don’t hesitate to contact us with your stories of Rotarians you feel deserve recognition for their efforts.
