Mayor Josh Morgan is pleased to announce the annual Mayor’s New Year’s Honour List, celebrating members of the London community in various categories of achievement to recognize the diversity of philanthropic work taking place in our city.
The 2023 honourees are:
- Ashton Forrest – Accessibility
- Beverly Farrell – Age Friendly
- Karen Schindler – Arts
- Edward Medzon – Distinguished Londoner
- Jason Rip – Distinguished Londoner
- Sydney Vickers – Distinguished Londoner
- Joe Cardillo – Distinguished Londoner
- Charlene Doak-Gebauer – Distinguished Londoner
- Padre Frank Mantz – Distinguished Londoner
- Carl Cadogan – Diversity and Race Relations
- Tom Cull – The Environment
- John Manness – Heritage
- Nawaz Tahir – Humanitarianism
- Roop Chanderdat – Sports
“These individuals truly represent the best of London. While they seek neither praise nor attention for their efforts, they are undeniably worthy of both recognition and celebration,” says Mayor Morgan. “Those being honoured this year have made our community better in a multitude of ways, not the least of which is their ability to inspire Londoners through acts of kindness and goodwill.”
The Mayor of London’s annual Honour List began in 1976 with recognition of contributions to the Arts. Since 1989, the additional categories of Diversity & Race Relations; The Environment; Heritage; Housing; Humanitarianism; Persons with Disabilities; Safety & Crime Prevention; Accessibility; Age Friendly and Sports have been added. Recipients are named by City Council, on the recommendation of Advisory Committees or community organizations, through the City’s Standing Committees.
In 2019, City Council added a “Distinguished Londoner” category to the New Year’s Honour List. This new category allowed members of Council to collectively nominate up to four Londoners who have made significant contributions to London through acts of goodwill, community collaboration, and volunteerism. In 2022, Council supported increasing the yearly number of Distinguished Londoners from four to six, allowing more Councillors to shine a light on deserving members of our community.