Champion sportswoman Charlotte Henshaw (above) and business guru Gary Jordan were made an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List.

Three further local people — Lieutenant Colonel Keith Spiers, academy principal Liz Barrett and Katrina Williams — were awarded an OBE.

Para-canoeist Charlotte was a Paralympic gold medallist and world champion in 2021. It capped a remarkable rise in the sport she only took up in 2016 after a successful career as a swimmer.

Gary, who is chair of business group Mansfield & Ashfield 2020, led a major PPE initiative during the first coronavirus lockdown and now leads a campaign to redeploy IT equipment to schools in the area.

Lt Col Spiers was honoured for his work to change young people’s perceptions of the military.

Liz, principal at ATTFE, which has campuses at Sutton Community Academy, The Dukeries Academy, Ollerton; and Portland College, Mansfield; is passionate about lifelong learning and was recognised for her services to education.

Katrina, of Mansfield, was made an OBE in recognition of her public service. She is the head of travel and office solutions at the Government’s Crown Commercial Service and has worked supporting Covid-19 and crisis response activity.

“It has been an honour to work on so many programmes over the past 22 months that have contributed to supporting, improving and/or saving the lives of citizens,” she said.

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Charlotte Henshaw, 34, a former pupil at St Patrick’s Primary and All Saints’ schools, Mansfield, who now lives in Sutton, was made an MBE for her services to canoeing.

“I am surprised. When you are an athlete the medal at the end is reward enough.

“I’m immensely grateful to be recognised, not just for achievements but for what we can do for others through our sport, either by representing or being inspirational. It is so important as paralympian athletes we use our successes to champion disability.

“Hopefully we can inspire others. I hope the award will help me with our work, such as championing women’s sports and para-canoeing.”

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Gary Jordan, 62, has been made an MBE for services to the economy and community of Mansfield and Ashfield.

During the first lockdown he was Nottinghamshire joint coordinator for the #ppe4nhs campaign, which saw 110,000 items of PPE redeployed to frontline workers in the NHS and social care.

Gary, of CMJ Solutions, now leads #WeMakeITPossible, collecting and redeploying IT equipment to schools across Mansfield and Ashfield.

He works with the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, Vision West Nottinghamshire College, business leaders and skills groups supporting school leavers and those made redundant due to the pandemic.

Gary, an executive business coach, said: “When I received the letter from the Cabinet Office Ceremonial Officer, I first thought it was a very elaborate hoax.

“I’m humbled and honoured that someone thinks the work I’ve done over the past 15 years or so, but more recently supporting local business, people, schools, simply doing my bit, was worthy of this accolade.”

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Lt Col Keith Spiers, 54, of Sutton, who has served in Iraq, leads the Army Community Engagement team based at Chetwynd Barracks, Chilwell.

It aims to help young people better understand the Army and to break negative myths.

He has pioneered delivering ways for the Army to engage meaningfully with tens of thousands of young people, particularly with girls and diverse communities, including primary school children.

“I am deeply honoured to have been awarded the OBE and feel absolutely overwhelmed,” he added.

“This award reflects the work of the whole team — a team that fully supports the concept and is a privilege to lead.

“We have worked with young people for the past four years, challenging their perceptions of the Army, delivering fun and challenging activities, which hopefully inspire and give them the confidence to reach their career aspirations and goals, whatever they may be.”

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Liz Barrett, 47, has worked in further education for more than 20 years and also volunteers at Let’s All Eat, which provides food for Sutton residents. She was awarded the OBE for her services to education.

“I’ve always been passionate about further education and embedding education into people’s lives,” she said. “This means a huge amount. I thank my family, friends, and wonderful colleagues, who are all just as passionate as I am about learning opportunities in the community.”

Let’s All Eat, a foodbank idea launched at the beginning of the pandemic, works with Ashfield District Council and GPs, as well as providing food parcels to families in need. It also offers learning opportunities, such as cookery classes or budgeting education.