SBC West Lothian – Recognition and Contribution Lunch

A business man who received an MBE from the Queen last week is among those officially recognised for their work within West Lothian communities.

John Ewart of employment training scheme BLES received his MBE from the Queen on Thursday 5 July at Holyrood Palace. John was acknowledged at the Scottish Business in the Community annual Recognition and Contribution Lunch on 27^th June.

Marion Latimer of Vision HR and Tommy Steel of West Lothian Cyrenians won the Business and Community awards at the lunch, under the Business and Community Collaboration awards scheme.   

The event celebrated the positive impact business has made to the local community in West Lothian over the past few years.

Keynote speaker Mike Stevenson, former community worker and now Managing Director of award winning Edinburgh based Communications company Design Links, commended the contribution of smaller businesses to communities as he drew on his experiences of working in some of the most difficult parts of Scotland and the impact business can have on communities.

“The notion of corporate social responsibility can be traced back to Andrew Carnegie – a Scot. It is in our blood to use our good fortune to help others and I see great examples every day. But all too often it is only the bigger companies who are recognised for their actions. Yet, the people picking up awards for the passionate work they do in West Lothian are leading the way and showing the impact smaller businesses have in the community. We should shout that from the rooftops”

Audrey Middleton, Chair of Scottish Business in the Community West Lothian said the event highlighted the success of work in the area: “Genuine partnerships between public, private and not-for-profit organisations can benefit all our communities.   The programmes that SBC West Lothian have developed, provide exactly the stimulating and challenging environment for such collaboration”.