TWO senior members of staff at the Isle of Man Ambulance and Paramedic Service have been honoured for their outstanding contribution to St John Ambulance Isle of Man.
Steve Sieling and Russell Thornhill are to be invested as Serving Brothers of the Order of St John - the parent charity of St John Ambulance which is a faith-based humanitarian organisation.
It can trace its roots back to the 11th Century and carries out work in 40 countries.
The Queen is the head of the Order and grants membership in recognition of outstanding contributions, normally involving many years' voluntary service.
Two years ago membership of the Order was widened to include those outside St John Ambulance who make a significant contribution to the charity.
Steve and Russell were put forward for recognition by the St John Ambulance Isle of Man honours committee, which was chaired at the time by then Lieutenant Governor Sir Paul Haddacks.
Chairman of St John Ambulance Isle of Man Professor Roger Berry said: "Steve and Russell certainly qualify as making an outstanding contribution to the work of St John Ambulance in the Island and the Order has recognised this."
As chief ambulance officer and before that the deputy chief head of training and development, Steve has forged good working partnerships with the charity.
Steve said: "Initially my link was to set up an agreement whereby St John Ambulance would assist us with resources during any major incident.
"More recently, the Ambulance and Paramedic Service and St John Ambulance have developed the successful Community First Responder schemes that are in place around the Island, providing life-saving care.
"I enjoy being involved with the recruitment and ongoing assessments for these vital volunteers."
Russell, the deputy chief head of training and development with the Ambulance and Paramedic Service, has been involved with St John Ambulance for a number of years.
He is involved in training the charity's members in skills that bring them into line with the Ambulance Service, especially when attending motorsports events, ensuring a seamless handover of patients.
He also assists with Community First Responder training and assessments.
Steve said: "We are both delighted to be given this very special honour for doing something that we both obviously enjoy and we will strive to continue supporting St John Ambulance in any way we can.
"We would like to thank those who put our names forward for this recognition and accept the honour not just for ourselves but for the excellent teams we have that support us behind the scenes."
The investiture will take place at the Priory Church in Clerkenwell, London, later this year.
There are 30,000 members of the Order worldwide.
For further information about St John Ambulance Isle of Man ring 674387 or visit www.sja.org.uk/counties/isleofman
