St John Ambulance award for Southwick volunteer

Front Row, left to right: Izzy Saunders, Cadet of the Year for West Sussex, Carl Bennett, winner of District Managers Award, Lauren Robinson, Lord Lieutenants Cadet for East Sussex, Jessica Redgrave, Badger of the Year.
Back Row, left to right: Caroline Lucas County President St John Ambulance Sussex, Peter Field - Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, Dr James Walsh The Hospitaller, The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John, Caroline Nicholls High Sheriff of West Sussex, Denise Patterson Deputy Lieutenant of West Sussex, John Wright long-serving St John Ambulance volunteer, Dan May-Jones Chairman CPG, John Moore-Bick High Sheriff of East Sussex, Trevor Moss District Manager, South District, Martin Houghton-Brown Chief Executive St John Ambulance and The Priory of England and the Islands, Mark Farmer Director of First Aid Operations St John Ambulance, Alex Ingham-Clark County Vice President West Sussex, Unal Salih Volunteer at Chichester Unit, Vanessa Gebbie County Vice President East Sussex — Front Row, left to right: Izzy Saunders, Cadet of the Year for West Sussex, Carl Bennett, winner of District Managers Award, Lauren Robinson, Lord Lieutenants Cadet for East Sussex, Jessica Redgrave, Badger of the Year. Back Row, left to right: Caroline Lucas County President St John Ambulance Sussex, Peter Field - Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, Dr James Walsh The Hospitaller, The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John, Caroline Nicholls High Sheriff of West Sussex, Denise Patterson Deputy Lieutenant of West Sussex, John Wright long-serving St John Ambulance volunteer, Dan May-Jones Chairman CPG, John Moore-Bick High Sheriff of East Sussex, Trevor Moss District Manager, South District, Martin Houghton-Brown Chief Executive St John Ambulance and The Priory of England and the Islands, Mark Farmer Director of First Aid Operations St John Ambulance, Alex Ingham-Clark County Vice President West Sussex, Unal Salih Volunteer at Chichester Unit, Vanessa Gebbie County Vice President East Sussex

Carl regularly provides free demonstrations of life-saving skills, such as CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

He has personally raised money by running the Brighton Marathon 10k, organised many fundraising activities for the group, such as race nights, and attended fun days and carnivals in the area.

Trevor Moss, district manager, said Carl’s first aid demonstrations were extremely well attended and welcomed by the residents.

Carl Bennett with Trevor Moss, district manager at St John Ambulance

He presented Carl with the District Manager’s Award in recognition of his fundraising efforts and for the promotion of first aid within the area.

The presentation was part of the Sussex awards ceremony, held at Plumpton College on June 18 and attended by East Sussex Lord-Lieutenant Peter Field, West Sussex Deputy Lieutenant Denise Patterson, East Sussex High Sheriff Major General John Moore-Bick and West Sussex High Sheriff Caroline Nicholls.

Various awards and trophies were presented to around 60 deserving volunteers, young and old, in recognition of their hard work and dedication.

The evening was also attended by St John Ambulance chief executive Martin Houghton-Brown, Mark Farmer, director of first aid services, and other senior St John Ambulance staff and volunteers.

Ray Oliver, from the Chichester unit, received a long-service award after clocking up more than five decades of volunteering.

He became one of only a few volunteers in the region to receive the prestigious Laurel Leaf award, which is given only to those volunteers who have been with the charity for 52 years.

Caroline Lucas, Sussex county president, said: “Our St John Ambulance volunteers are a truly remarkable group of people who give up so much of their own time to serving others.

“They don’t do it for medals or recognition but our annual awards ceremony goes at least some way towards showing our appreciation for their invaluable work which has a direct impact in the local community.”