THREE officers at the Department of Home Affairs have received awards in recognition of their long service.
Finance officers Simon Court and Iain Richardson have spent 30 years and 20 years respectively in the Isle of Man Civil Service, working latterly for the police, while DHA director of legislation and administration Julian Lalor-Smith has notched up 20 years in various departments.
They received their certificates from DHA Chief Executive Will Greenhow yesterday.
Mr Greenhow said: "I am pleased to present the certificates in recognition of the loyal and dedicated service these officers have given.
"All have exceeded the number of years shown on their certificate but I feel it is important to recognise the milestones to show our appreciation and to take the opportunity to thank them for continuing to rise to the challenge of working in a Government department."
Simon Court, 51, joined the Civil Service on leaving Castle Rushen High School in 1977.
He worked first for the Assessor of Income Tax, transferring to the police around 1982 to work with Sergeant Albert Lowe, who was then in charge of police administration.
He was promoted to executive officer in 1998, in charge of administration and finance.
Iain Richardson, 41, joined the IoM Water Authority on leaving St Ninian’s High School in 1987, moving to Police Headquarters in 1999.
Both Simon and Iain transferred to the DHA Chief Executive’s Office at Homefield, Woodbourne Road, Douglas, in December 2009 when the centralisation of the finance function across all divisions began.
The two officers assist the police in balancing the £15.3million police budget, providing monthly reports on spending and arranging for the payment of bills.
Iain said: "A lot of police officers who contact us with finance queries are surprised to hear we are now based at Homefield. We try to ensure that the service we provide is just as efficient as before."
Simon added: "We are both enjoying it down here and are looking forward to developing into other areas, which is the plan with the centralisation. There’s always something different that crops up."
Julian Lalor-Smith, 51, joined the IoM Civil Service in 1988 as european officer in the Chief Minister’s Office, following a varied career and time spent travelling.
In 1997 he was promoted to Legislation Officer at the (then) Department of Transport, leaving in 1999 to take up the post of administrator at Home Affairs. He was appointed Director of Administration and Legislation in 2006.
Julian said: "Among my achievements was my involvement in designing and implementing the first full regulatory mechanism in the world for online gambling in 2001, and in 2008, producing a 150-page submission to the British Government, which resulted in the Island being placed on the 'White List' allowing Isle of Man licence holders to advertise and take bets from the UK."
Department of Home Affairs chief executive Will Greenhow (second from right) presented long service awards to (from left) Iain Richardson, Simon Court and Julian Lalor-Smith
