Memorial plaque awarded to “remarkable” volunteers

Saturday 06 October 2018

Two volunteers have been recognised for their outstanding contribution to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award with a plaque in memory of the award’s former manager.

A Flight Sergeant in the Air Cadets and an award Co-Ordinator at Hautlieu School have been recognised for their commitment to DofE with a memorial plaque named after Mitch Couriard.

Mr Couriard, a former Honorary Policeman and manager for DofE, passed away in October 2015, but his memory lives on through the plaque named after him in recognition of “outstanding voluntary service” for DofE.

Charlotte Palmer (19), a Cadet Flight Sergeant in the Jersey Air Cadets, is one of the volunteers to win the Mitch Couriard memorial plaque. Since completing her Gold DofE, Charlotte has worked as a lead instructor, taking responsibility for between 25 and 70 cadets and dedicating up to 20 hours of her week to voluntary service.

Pictured: The memorial plaque was created in honour of the well-known and much-loved Mitch Couriard who passed away in October 2015.

Flight Lieutenant Leighton Jenkins commended Charlotte’s dedication, saying: “Charlotte is only 19, but… she is a magnificent role model for the younger cadets and I imagine that many have taken up the [DofE] award as a result of her.”

The other winner of the memorial plaque is Mandy Campbell, a DofE Co-Ordinator at Hautlieu School. Mandy has volunteered as a DofE Co-Ordinator for eight years and supports students working to gain their award.

The Mitch Couriard plaque was presented to the recipients by DofE Jersey Committee Chairman Mike Entwistle last week.