Castle Brom Lion appears in New Year Honours List

HONOUR: The British Empire Medal (BEM) was reintroduced
in 2012 to recognise community champions.

A WOMAN who has worked tirelessly alongside local charities and community groups has been recognised in the New Year Honours List.
Phil White has been awarded the British Empire Medal in recognition of many years of volunteering.
The 67-year-old is a director of the Castle Bromwich Youth and Community Partnership and has been chairman of the Castle Bromwich Friends of Acorns - a group which raises funds for the well-known children's hospice - since 2008.
She is also a long-standing member of Castle Bromwich and District Lions.
Her work with the branch was thrown into the spotlight last year, as she helped to choose the charities that would benefit from a generous pensioner's £150,000 fortune.
The extraordinary chain of events was set in motion while Phil was helping to clear the cluttered home of her friend Edna Hales, who died in 2012.
While sorting through the Smith's Wood terrace, Phil found a will and testament - written eight years ago - which asked for the estate to be shared out among worthy causes.
The chance discovery of the crumpled note has seen substantial sums handed to charities including Diabetes UK, the Alzheimer's Society and the Royal National Institute for the Blind.
Phil, whose husband Tony is also a member of the Lions, is set to visit Buckingham Palace later this year to receive the BEM.
She becomes the latest local resident to appear in the Honours List. Others recognised in recent years include Castle Bromwich councillor Ted Richards and Chelmsley Wood traffic warden Ann Conway, both of whom were awarded MBEs.