Tour operator founder awarded BEM
Shirley Tours founder Shirley Ward has been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for voluntary service to the community in Upminster and Cranham, Essex.
A long-standing member of the Group Travel Organisers Association (GTOA), Ward organises group trips through her company to destinations including Lake Bled and Lake Como and river cruises on the Rhine and Amsterdam.
"I had a letter asking if I would be willing to accept it and I was dumbstruck," she said.
"It is a great honour and I am extremely grateful to be recognised in this way."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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