At the BEM Presentation Ceremony held in Clydebank Town Hall on 28 September 2018, hosted by Provost William Hendrie, West Dunbartonshire Council, Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire, Rear Admiral Michael Gregory OBE, again emphasised the extensive variety of activities of each awardee, all of whom had been volunteers to their causes over many years.   Provost Hendrie congratulated all the awardees and thanked them for their service to the community.    All present were delighted at the part played by the Our Lady & St Patrick's Brass Ensemble in the ceremony.

Frances Jones   -   BEM

Mrs Jones was diagnosed with Coeliac disease in 1973 and since then has been helping individuals and their families who have also suffered from it    -    a remarkable 45 years.   She has worked assiduously to promote Coeliac awareness in the Glasgow area and organises functions across Scotland and all her work is done on a completely voluntary basis.

Kenneth McChlery   -   BEM

Mr McChlery has worked for the Border Force in Glasgow and has worked to achieve improvements to the facilities of both staff and detainees.   He has also been very involved in supporting the East Park School which caters for special needs children and he has been personally responsible for raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for the school.

Sheenah Nelson   -   BEM

Mrs Nelson has been involved in supporting cancer and heart charities since 1982 and to date over £130,000 has been raised for Macmillan Cancer Care under her chairmanship.   She pioneered the Heartstart and First Responder schemes and has placed over 100 defibrillators throughout the area.   She continues to fundraise and this ensures that maintenance of equipment and training of volunteers can continue   -   well over 1,000 children have had CPR training in the last couple of years.

Allan Stewart   -   BEM

Mr Stewart worked as a member of Allied Distillers charity committee (Team Chivas) and a major beneficiary of his work has been the CHAS home, Robin House in Balloch.   Then in 2013 he got his team involved in Kiltwalk which now has over 14,000 walkers who raise funds for a great variety of charities and over £5million has so far been raised.   His team are not only involved in raising cash; they also volunteer at events and provide logistical support at Cash for Kids events among others.   Despite his own health difficulties since 2016 he has continued to raise funds for the likes of Maggie’s Centres and the Beatson Charity.

Diana McIntosh   -   BEM

Mrs McIntosh has been a volunteer for a number of charities in the Helensburgh area for over 30 years: Contact the Elderly; the Child Contact Centre; Citizen’s Advice Bureau, and Save the Children for which she has been Secretary and Chairman for the past 10 years.   During this period, she has helped to raise over £99,000   -   a staggering amount.