You’ve been fortunate enough to witness first-hand the many positive effects winning a Queen’s Award has on a business. How would you sum up what it means to win? Lord-Lieutenant David Fursdon: Many winning businesses have involved a large number of their staff in the application process, and this has often had a great team-building effect. They know the bar is high, so when they win and have an opportunity to celebrate at the presentation there is a real sense of pride and achievement that permeates the whole workforce. This gives the company a real boost and positions it to take advantage of the new opportunities that may well flow from the profile the award generates. Any particularly fond memories of presentations that have been well received by staff and company owners? It would be invidious to pick out one occasion only. I have presented the award in a huge auditorium and in a private house; to an audience of a dozen to an audience of several hundreds, and have had to adapt my uniform to sitting in armoured Jeeps and buses and being beside production lines – and in every case the owners and staff have been excited and enthusiastic at what they have achieved. Any tips or words of encouragement for businesses thinking of applying for a Queen’s Award? Just go for it! If you don’t quite make it you may well learn a lot of positive things that can help your business through the feedback you’ll receive, and indeed from the process itself, and you can always apply again in the future. Winning, however, can help you with your business profile and open up markets that you may have been trying to penetrate for years. Give yourself enough time to complete the forms and tell the real story of the development of your company.
Presenting the Queen’s Awards to local businesses is a key role for Lord-Lieutenants across Britain / Photo credit: Dartington Crystal
Queen’s Awards presentations aside, what are the key elements of your role? As Her Majesty the Queen’s personal representative the role involves representing her in the county on national occasions and for specific events, facilitating and hosting visits from members of the royal family, validating and sometimes presenting national honours on her behalf to individuals – and, in the case of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, to groups – and bringing people together to help the social, charitable, business and community life of the county. How did you come to be Her Majesty’s Lord- Lieutenant of Devon? The Sovereign, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoints her Lord-Lieutenants after a comprehensive consultation process by the Prime Minister’s appointments secretary, which leads to the identification of a shortlist of candidates. I had no idea I was in the running until the latter stages of the process. n
Queen’s Awards Magazine 2021
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