RHIAN Duggan, the outgoing High Sheriff of Powys, has presented a number of tireless community heroes with High Sheriff Awards.

In what’s been a strange and quiet year for Rhian, she visited a number of people throughout the county last week to present them with their awards as one of her last orders in office.

The list of recipients includes: Ashley Offa (Builth Wells Community Support), Sharon Morris

(Rhayader Community Nursery manager), Vicky Davies (Rhayader Home Support manager), Annemarie Hutton and Derek Gibbons (Ashfield Community Enterprise), Clare James (for service to the High Sheriff and local community), Ernie Husson (in recognition of valuable service to photography, press and publicity), Alun Morgan and Ingrid Gallagher (in recognition of valuable service to the administration of justice), Dr Cath Wilkins (valuable service to the Girlguiding movement), Rachael Labourne (of Powys Teaching Health Board, in recognition of exceptional service in support of the Royal College of Nursing during Covid-19 pandemic), Steph Burton (in recognition of valuable service to Cefnllys School Community Charity Shop), as well as numerous volunteers in the vaccination centres at Newtown, Builth Wells and Bronllys.

The pandemic has meant what was scheduled to be a busy year for Rhian has turned out to be an extremely uneventful one.

Rhian was named High Sheriff of Powys at the beginning of 2020 but a role that normally involves lots of public functions and fundraising has been cut short by coronavirus.

The pandemic meant Rhian had to take a back seat for most of the year, although she ended it on a high with an online auction that raised £5,000 for the Bracken Trust.