New Year’s Honours

People who have made a difference in our community have been recognised in the Queen’s New Years Honours list.

Tara Bartley, who has been made an OBE, is already a Fellow of Royal College of Nurses and lives in Rosefield Street, Leamington, with her husband Roger Fagge and their two sons, Lewis and Miles.

After qualifying as a nurse in 1986, Mrs Bartley went on to gain experience in transplants at places like Papworth Hospital before specialising in the care of open-heart surgery patients at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.

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It was in Birmingham she developed the role of nursing practitioners within cardiothoracic surgery.

As a senior practitioner Mrs Bartley’s job is to bridge the gap between medicine and nursing, taking on far greater responsibility for patients for whom she can prescribe medicine and treatment as part of a team.

The 49-year-old, who is also the nursing representative for the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery in the UK and Ireland, said: “I was honoured and overwhelmed to receive the letter detailing the OBE.

“It came completely out of the blue - there are so many brilliant people within the health service doing remarkable work.”

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Also honoured with an OBE was Carl Gilleard of Moreton Morrell, the former chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters, for his services to higher education and graduate employability.

And Nicholas Paul Winser, executive director of UK National Grid, who lives in Leamington, was made a CBE for his services to industry.

Former Kenilworth resident Kathryn Rudd was honoured with an OBE for her services to further education for young adults with complex disabilities and severe learning difficulties.

Kathryn, who grew up in the town, is now principal of National Star Specialist College in Cheltenham and has played a leading role in lobbying the Government over funding reforms and the proposed Children and Families Bill by meeting with ministers and speaking in the House of Lords. The 42-year-old said she was “honoured” to be recognised but that the OBE was a testament to the fantastic work of the staff and students at National Star.

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“Never has it been so important to defend the rights and needs of young people with disabilities,” she said.

Among those receiving the MBE was Susan Rhodes, of Bridge End, Warwick, who was recognised for her work with individuals and organisations in Coventry, Warwickshire and Wales. She is involved in many charities in the district.

Mrs Rhodes said she was “delighted and humbled to have receive the award.”

Roger Wyatt, agricultural agent from the King Henry 
VIII Endowed Trust, where Mrs Rhodes has been a trustee for more than 20 years, said: “This award couldn’t have gone to a more worthy recipient.

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“Susan devotes her whole life to her first calling as a garden historian and then to her work as a trustee of various charities in the town.”

An MBE also went to Richard Smart, chairman of the governors of Our Lady’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Princethorpe, for his services to education.

Mr Smart, aged 71, who lives in Rugby, had been a school governor at county schools for more than 25 years and at one stage was appointed to an interim executive board to help two schools in special measures.

Mr Smart is also a founder member of the Warwickshire Governors’ Association Forum, established in 1990, and an active member of the Governors’ Forum Steering Group which helped secure better relationships between governors and the county council.

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