New Year Honours: OBE for Hemel Hempstead's Olympic gold medallist Max Whitlock

Hemel Hempstead's double Olympic pommel horse champion, Max Whitlock, has been awarded an OBE for services to gymnastics in the Queen’s New Year Honours.

The CEO for Hertfordshire Care Providers Association (HCPA) and the service manager for children's services at Hertfordshire County Council have also been honoured.

Sharon Davies, who has been at the helm of HCPA since 2010, was awarded an OBE for services to the Adult Social Care Sector; and Pretty Nkiwane was honoured with an MBE for her outstanding commitment to children’s social care during Covid-19.

The New Year Honours List for 2022 recognises the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the UK.

An Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) is awarded to someone for making a great impact in their line of work, a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) is awarded to someone for making a positive impact in their line of work.

Max Whitlock was awarded an OBE

The Hemel Hempstead-born gymnast was awarded an OBE for services to gymnastics after winning his third Olympic gymnastics gold in Tokyo in the summer.

The 28-year-old was born and raised in Hemel and attended Longdean School while spending the early days of his gymnastics career at Sapphire School of Gymnastics in the town.

He retained his pommel horse title in Tokyo to take his place alongside the Team GB greats with six Olympic medals - three golds and three bronze - to his name.

Going first in the competition, Whitlock set the standard as he maintained excellent momentum during his routine and scored a huge 15.583.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Whitlock said: “I have been involved in the sport when it was a very, very different place to what it is now.

“It feels like an absolute privilege and a really, really proud feeling to be on that journey to what the sport is now in terms of participation levels rocketing through the roof and the progression in the sport.

“I am excited to see what I can do and what the team can do to help it move forwards and continue growing.”

He added: “Hopefully with awards like this, I can keep creating an impact. It is incredible to be awarded, but it is what you do next that is even more important as well.

“Hopefully I can help the next generations that are coming through.”

Whitlock said he is involved in grassroots projects at school level within the sport and is also trying to help coaches.

Sharon Davies was awarded an OBE

HCPA has over 602 members, runs an annual sponsored award ceremony, carries out peer reviews, holds networking events and runs a training programme that has reached over 17,500 people from across Hertfordshire.

Hertfordshire County Council and local providers acknowledge that HCPA’s activity led by Sharon has positively impacted on the quality of care within Hertfordshire and beyond.

Such have been the success of the initiatives born out of HCPA that some are now being made a national offering with other counties following suit in the bid to raise the standard of care and professionalise the sector.

Sharon said: "I am so proud to hold the honour of OBE. I feel this award is for everyone who works and supports social care in Hertfordshire, because it is together that we have worked to ensure the most vulnerable people have been supported to live their best lives.

"My work for the last 20 years has been focussed on raising quality, sharing best practice and on providing the very best cutting-edge education to those who work on the front line of care and to those who lead our amazing care services.

"I have been humbled by the way that care providers have come to us to ask for support and guidance and never more so than in the pandemic.

"During these last two years my team and I have worked tirelessly to interpret guidance, ensure there is face to face (sometimes, now via Zoom) interactive education and hold the hands of people who have been, day in day out, putting their own lives at risk.

"This OBE is for Hertfordshire and for everyone who works in social care.

"I may have led the organisation that provided the support, but it is our care professionals who have embraced the offer and used the knowledge we have given them to care for peoples, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers and sons and daughters."

When the pandemic hit and the nation was in turmoil Hertfordshire County Council and HCPA rallied, led by Sharon, HCPA launched a pioneering 24/7 helpline for Care providers across

Hertfordshire, the call centre took thousands of calls and was a lifeline for providers who were struggling with issues such as obtaining PPE and staffing issues.

Such was the success of the Provider Hub in supporting providers throughout the pandemic that it has been recognised by the government for its services to the care community.

Other initiatives led by Sharon include the Care Professional Standards Academy.

She said: "My mission is to professionalise the care sector, to stop people saying, ‘I am only a carer’ and to give them pride in their hard work and achievements.

"Our Care Professional Standards Academy is gaining momentum, we want everyone who works in care to join up and to proudly display their certificates and training passports.

"We have begun to get interest from other counties in the Academy and I will use my OBE to open doors so that care is seen and respected as a profession, a career of choice and the natural pathway for compassionate courageous people both in Hertfordshire and across the country.

"My mission, with the help of my OBE, is to make the term ‘Care Professional’ the standard way we talk about our amazing workforce."

Pretty Nkiwane was honoured with an MBE

Pretty received the prestigious accolade for her hard work and dedication to safeguarding children throughout the pandemic, working with young people, families and social workers to achieve the best outcomes during these challenging times.

She said: “I feel so humbled to receive such an honour and l must say this is part of teamwork with colleagues and staff in my service.

"I receive this on behalf of all my colleagues within Family Safeguarding services who have worked so tirelessly and in particular during the Covid pandemic.

"Their commitment to the children in our community is second to none.”

Outlining her vital work during the pandemic, she said: “As a leader within Family Safeguarding I have ensured that our staff are supported and their wellbeing is central to my commitments, which is now particularly important in the current Covid pandemic, so that they too can deliver a safe service.

“In my current position this was always, and remains my responsibility, especially at a time when social workers were among the very few professionals visiting children and families in the home (this included prior to the vaccination being rolled out).

"I think these social workers have shown their passion and accountability, therefore it’s my view that they are the unsung heroes.”

With a career spanning over 19 years with the county council, Pretty’s many other successes include helping implement the Hertfordshire Family Safeguarding Model, a beacon programme adopted by many other local authorities.

She also helped devise and implement the Frontline Programme for social worker training and recruitment, which has been hugely successful for over half a decade.

She added: “Whilst I receive this award, I would like to mention that my grandfather too was a recipient of the same accolade in 1957 for his work within the Local Government in Malawi.

"He was also part of the official dignitaries who received and hosted the Queen Mother when she visited Malawi.”

Cllr Teresa Heritage, Hertfordshire County Council’s Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families said: “Many congratulations to Pretty for this prestigious and richly deserved award.

"Pretty’s unstinting hard work, dedication and commitment to providing outstanding support to our children and young people, and their families and carers, during the difficult challenges of the coronavirus pandemic have been incredible.

“Her work will continue to have positive impacts for the families she has supported, as well as within Children’s Services, for years to come. We are extremely fortunate to have Pretty as a colleague and wish her many congratulations on receiving this distinguished accolade.”

Jo Fisher, Executive Director of Children’s Services at Hertfordshire County Council said: “Hertfordshire County Council’s Children’s Services are immensely proud of Pretty whose MBE is so richly deserved in recognition of her diligent and dedicated work to the children, young people and families of Hertfordshire.

“Her work during the pandemic was critical in ensuring that children and families received the support they needed during this very difficult couple of years."