Worsley man awarded British Empire Medal in Queen's New Year Honours
A senior BT manager from Worsley has been recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours for his tireless fundraising work to help disadvantaged children in the UK and around the world.
Keith Tulsie, 52, who has helped to raise over £100,000 in five years to help relieve poverty, sickness and distress and advance the education of children in England, Cambodia and Romania, has been awarded the British Empire Medal.
When his friend, Steve Murray, set up Georgia’s Children of the World in 2011, Keith threw himself into fundraising in memory of Steve’s daughter, Georgia, who died from a heart condition in 2010 at the age of 19.
Inspired also by his own son who was born with a heart defect in 1997, Keith has helped to raise money to set up five ‘Georgia’s Houses’ in locations such as Cambodia and Romania to provide schooling and improve health and welfare for disadvantaged children.
Keith has been involved since the beginning of the charity and currently serves as assistant treasurer to the organisation. He is heavily involved in their fundraising efforts. The highlight is the annual G-Fest event in memory of Georgia, who loved music.
G-Fest is a music festival showcasing local established and youth bands, plus family entertainment such as football, a funfair, barbecue, disco and stalls for adults and children. The event is growing in popularity, with around 3,500 attending this year. Next year’s G-Fest will be held on the 30th April 2017 at the Ellesmere Sports Clubin Worsley
Keith explained what it means to him to receive the medal: “It’s incredible to be recognised by the Queen and I am absolutely over the moon and humbled to be given a British Empire Medal. I know my friends and family will be very proud, particularly my parents.
“Receiving this award means so much to me and everybody involved with Georgia’s Children of the World, especially for the committee members and supporters who have helped to get us where we are today. I would also to thank my friend and colleague Roy Hammond who nominated me for this award, and my family and friends for their love and support.”
Keith’s previous manager, Roy Hammond who nominated him for the award said: “I’ve known Keith for a number of years and was always aware of the enormous support he gave the charity. As a BT volunteer I had the opportunity to help decorate one of the Georgia’s Houses and I could see first hand the positive difference the charity makes to the lives of disadvantaged children. The colossal passion and pride Keith showed for the charity was so obvious that I felt compelled to try and publically acknowledge his commitment.
“Hearing that Keith had been recognised was one of my proudest moments of the year. I could never imagine contributing so much to one charity. I have to take my hat off to Keith for all his dedication in supporting the efforts of Georgia’s Children of the World.”
This year Keith and the team opened their fifth Georgia’s House, which is an extension to the existing Lifecentre that works with young children and their families in Salford.
Earlier this year, Keith was recognised out of thousands of BT employees by BT’s chairman, Sir Michael Rake, as the company’s fundraiser of the year and overall winner of the annual BT Chairman’s Awards.
His family (wife, son and daughter) work for BT and he has been with the company for 36 years. Keith is currently a senior project manager in Openreach, BT’s local network business where he works on the delivery of the fibre broadband network in the North West.
Video about Keith’s charity work - https://www.btchairmansawards.com/video/86
http://georgiaschildren.weebly.com
ENDS
For further information about this news release please contact Janet Hare in the BT regional press office on 0800 085 0660. All our news releases can be read at www.btplc.com/news
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