The King has recognised a charity founder, a retired head teacher and a former council finance chief in the New Year Honours List.
The most senior honour goes to Catherine Vaughan, 50, the former acting chief executive of Brighton and Hove City Council.
Mrs Vaughan, from Hove, has been made a Companion of the Bath, one rank below a dame in the Order of the Bath.
She joined the council in 2001 as assistant director of finance and won promotion to director of finance three years later.
She spent more than 13 years with the council including more than four years as the chief finance officer of the South Downs National Park Authority before moving to the Land Registry.
She has since held a number of senior positions in the civil service, becoming director general for finance at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) two years ago.
While a student at Oxford, she earned a university blue for netball and has since been a volunteer coach at 5Ways Netball, for 8 to 19-year-olds, based at Cardinal Newman Catholic School, in Hove. She also served as a non-executive director of England Netball.
Two Brighton business founders have been recognised for what they have achieved beyond their success at work.
Justin Francis founded Responsible Travel, which is based in Brighton, in 2000 with support from Dame Anita Roddick who founded her own business, the Body Shop, in Brighton, in 1976.
Mr Francis, 59, serves as the nature lead on the Council for Sustainable Business which advises the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
He becomes an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for services to nature and to the environment.
Rob Starr, 55, the founder of the Starr Trust, has been made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for services to young people and to philanthropy.
The Starr Trust helps young people from 10 to 18 years old to fulfil their potential through sports, arts and education.
Mr Starr started his first business selling insurance from his bedroom just a few years after leaving school and now has operations in Britain and abroad, with his base still in Hove.
He set up the Starr Trust in 2008 after losing his father Edward to cancer. He wanted to give others what his father gave him – a belief that he could achieve anything.
His achievements including swimming the English Channel and writing two musicals, two plays and three books.
Trevor Beattie, 67, from Hove, also becomes an MBE. He was the first permanent chief executive of the South Downs National Park Authority and retired at the start of this year after 12 years.
In 2019, he led on the creation of a new charity, the South Downs National Park Trust, which quickly became one of the highest performing charities for protected landscapes. He was honoured for services to the natural environment.
Daniel Brookbank, 58, also becomes an MBE for services to the community in Brighton and East Sussex. The former Hurstpierpoint College pupil became a practice manager and business manager for various NHS family doctors’ surgeries.
He has long campaigned for safer walkways and streets in and around Sussex, giving councillors among others an insight into the daily realities for people with sight loss and poor vision.
He has served as the chief executive of East Sussex Vision Support and worked with the East Sussex Sight Loss Council.
John Stewart, from Hove, becomes a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for services to the NHS. He is the national director of specialised commissioning for NHS England.
Shanez Cheytan, from Brighton, the deputy director of land transport national security at the Department for Transport, becomes an OBE services to rail passengers and transport
Phil Poulton, from Brighton, becomes an MBE for services to children and young people with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities). He was the head teacher of Bensham Manor School, in Croydon.
A familiar face in Brighton and Hove, the author Jacqueline Wilson, becomes a GBE (Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire) for servies to literature.
Dame Jacqueline, 79, the creator of The Tracy Beaker series, lives in Alfriston. She has been a steadfast support of children and young people, bookshops and festivals across the area.
Isn’t that so jolly decent of old Charley Wingnut. His largesse knows no bounds.
The problem with the honours system is that it is no way representational or meritocratic. Yes, you do get some interesting and deserving characters but on the whole it’s a reward system for local government/civil service officials, media types and flunkies.
It’s completely anachronistic, non-meritocratic and really smacks the “time served” types ie Whitehall mandarins the “Sir Humphrey” type.
The individuals in Brighton I would most like to see rewarded for going above and beyond the call of duty are:
Tim Holtam, Harry McCarney and Wen Wei Xu. Who set up the Brighton Table Tennis Club, which goes out of its way to help the vulnerable and disadvantaged. Especially now they are also involved with the Fitzherbert Hub.
Pastor “Father” Andrew Ramage of Metropolitan Community Church who has an absolutely humongous amount of respect in the homeless community for the work that he does not just for them but again the vulnerable and disadvantaged.
And last but not least.
The inimitable Jimmy Deans from Sussex Homeless Support. The guy is an indomitable advocate of the homeless community. His Saturday venue down on the Old Steine is a constant beacon of hope. foul weather of fine he will always turn up.
Don’t Trust for Developing Communities do something like this for local people who do good things for the community, handed out by the Mayor of Brighton?
I agree though.
If you think these people deserve some sort of honour then nominate them!
There is a form on the .gov.uk website to complete.
Thank you Chris. I am actually aware of this process and on numerous occasions have put my money where my mouth is and actually nominated the above individuals but to no avail. That is why I’m very sceptical of the Honours system.