After over 10 years as Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Helen Nellis retired on Tuesday 6th September.
Helen Nellis was appointed by HM The Queen as the Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire and began her term of office on 22nd February 2012.
Helenās career has spanned the law, higher education, health and the commercial sector. She is a Trustee, President and Patron of a number of charities, including a Patron of BedsRCC. We are very proud of everything she has achieved in her time as Lord-Lieutenant, and will be sorry to see her go.
During her time as Patron for Beds RCC, we valued having her visits and encouragement for the work we did.
On July 26th 2021, we welcomed Helen to our newly-refurbished Ridgmont Station Heritage Centre, as she wanted to give a personal ‘Thank You’ for all the hard work carried out by both staff and volunteers during the pandemic. It was a wonderful opportunity for staff to meet Helen if they hadn’t already, and for her to receive a tour of the Heritage Centre.
Helen also presented Biggleswade Good Neighbours with the Queen’s Voluntary Service award which they were awarded in 2022, at the awards ceremony in July.
Tracy Cowan, Beds RCC CEO said:
Helen has been an inspiration throughout her time here as Patron for Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity. Since I joined Beds RCC as Chief Executive, it has been an honour to work with Helen and to have her support. She always found the time to visit us to show her appreciation of our work, which was a huge encouragement to all. On behalf of Team Beds RCC, I wish her a fantastic new adventure and hope she knows she will always be welcome at Beds RCC.
As one of our valuable Patrons, Helen has ensured we are connected with all Bedfordshire organisations in forming a positive network to benefit the people of this county
Paula Grayson, Chair of Trustees
On the day of her retirement, Helen shared on Twitter:
On my final day as HM Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire I wanted to thank everyone who seeks to build kind, welcoming communities where all can have a sense of belonging & opportunity. I am so proud of our county. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to work alongside you.
@LLieutenantBeds