Twelve new Deputy Lieutenants for Staffordshire have been appointed this week by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire, Mr Ian James Dudson CBE KStJ.
The Deputy Lieutenants will take up their roles from Wednesday 3rd May, with a formal commissioning ceremony taking place at County Buildings in Stafford later in the year.
The new Deputy Lieutenants are as follows:
Miss Hannah Ault
Mr Lee Bates BEM
Mr Simon Davies RRC VR
Ms Karen Dobson OBE
Lt Col Toby Gaddum
Mr Ian Greaves
Mrs Reena McCourt
Mr Julian Mitchell
Miss Josie Morris MBE
Mrs Judy Scott-Moncrieff
Mr Will Simkin
Mrs Alison Wedgwood
Speaking about the appointments, Mr Dudson said: “It is a great pleasure to welcome Staffordshire’s new Deputy Lieutenants. They have all been selected because of their roles within their communities and I am sure they will do an excellent job.”
His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant is the King’s representative in the county. He represents His Majesty on a wide variety of occasions which merit royal support, and which celebrate significant achievement in the public, private and voluntary sectors. He works across the county, with his Deputy Lieutenants, to promote Staffordshire and to help it become a better place to live and work.
Karen Dobson OBE said: ‘I am honoured to have been asked to take on the role of Deputy Lieutenant and am pleased and proud to help promote the success of our fantastic county of Staffordshire.”
Toby Gaddum said: “I feel incredibly honoured to be appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Staffordshire. I hope that my future service to the Lord Lieutenant and the county will meet the trust bestowed upon me by this position.”
Simon Davies RRC VR said: “I was surprised when invited to join the Lieutenancy as a Deputy Lieutenant. I feel proud and privileged to again serve the people of Staffordshire in this position.”
Julian Mitchell said: “I feel profoundly honoured by my appointment and I look forward to supporting the Lord Lieutenant to the utmost of my abilities and serving my remarkable county, of which I’m so very proud.”
Judy Scott-Moncrieff said: “I feel very proud and honoured to be given this opportunity to serve the County of Staffordshire and hope that I will fulfil the role to the best of my ability.”
Josie Morris MBE said: “I am proud and excited to become a Deputy Lieutenant of Staffordshire. I love this area and am committed to ensuring I use this honour for the betterment of the area and those in it.”
Reena McCourt said: “I’m completely surprised and overwhelmed but delighted and honoured to serve The Lord Lieutenant.”
Ian Greaves said: “I feel privileged and am delighted to be invited to become a Deputy Lieutenant in my home County of Staffordshire where I have enjoyed living for the majority of my life. I look forward to working with my fellow Deputy Lieutenants, supporting HM Lord-Lieutenant, Ian Dudson, and representing His Majesty the King in this way.”
Will Simkin said: “I am honoured to become a Deputy Lieutenant and I look forward to assisting the Lord Lieutenant in his work across the county of Staffordshire. It is both exciting and a privilege to be able to make a positive contribution to Staffordshire and I am grateful to be given this opportunity.”
Hannah Ault said: “It’s such an honour to be asked to support Staffordshire in this way. I have a huge sense of pride for my city and great county and feel grateful to be able to contribute to my community with other local individuals.”
Lee Bates BEM said: “Words cannot express what an honour it has been to be put forward by The Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire Ian Dudson and be appointed as one of his Deputy Lieutenant’s. I am very much looking forward to learning the role and supporting the Lieutenancy of Staffordshire, who represents His Majesty within the County. I never would have ever thought that I would be appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant and having worked within community development and the voluntary sector for nearly 30 years, I am humbled to use the knowledge and skills gained, to serve in this way.”
Alison Wedgwood said: “I was deeply honoured and humbled to be offered the position of Deputy Lieutenant for Staffordshire. Born and bred in Stoke on Trent, I attended local schools and the 6th Form college, and then returned after a few years working overseas to set up a family home in Staffordshire. I am passionate about Staffordshire. It has a strong sense of community, industrial heritage, innovation and creativity.”
Ian Dudson was appointed as Lord-Lieutenant on 29 March 2012. Ian was an industrialist whose family business, manufacturing ceramic tableware for the worldwide hospitality industry, had been based in Stoke on Trent since 1800.
Ian was awarded the CBE for services to the ceramics industry in 2002 and made a Knight of the Order of St John in 2017.
Prior to this appointment he was a Deputy Lieutenant since 2001 and was High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 2010-11. He was Pro-Chancellor of Keele University and Chair of Council from 2005-2012, he was also a founding member of the Local Enterprise Partnership.
