Career nurse honoured as Public Officer of the Year
Today is International Public Service Day and this morning in special tribute to the men and women who turn the wheels of government, Belmopan honoured its longest serving employees. During ceremonies this morning, forty-seven public officers who have served twenty-five years with government were awarded a certificate of long service and a commemorative pin. But of the thousands of employees, one stood out to be counted as Public Officer of the Year. For excellence in the nursing profession, the distinguished title went to Bernadette Wade Rivas. Rivas, who is presently the Matron of the Western Regional Hospital, embarked on her career path in 1985 and since then has been working tirelessly in the public service. This morning she thanked her family, staff, and all those who helped her along the way.
Bernadette Wade Rivas, Officer of the Year
“I’m honoured and humbled by this award. I am sure that there are others in the public service and I can think of others in nursing who are also deserving of such a prestigious award.”
“I don’t want to call any names, as I don’t want to miss anyone, but there are a whole lot of people who supported, mentored, trained, advised, admonished, to mould me into the person that I am today. To my church family who encourage and pray with me in difficult times, to my nursing mentors and tutors, this would not be possible without you. To my hundreds of patients who over the years by their motivating words of gratitude or a smile of encouragement, these are my best memoirs in my career as a nurse. In closing, I must encourage other nurses and public officers to be the best in what you do regardless of the situation or challenges. Have it in you to compete with yourself, always improving at what you do.”
Also recognised during today’s ceremony was the Government Agency of the Year. That award went to the Belize Archives and Records Service. Accepting the plaque on behalf of the department was director Charles Gibson.
Charles Gibson, Dir., Belize Archives and Records Service
“I’ve been asked by some of my staff to dedicate this award to one of our staff members who passed away sadly last year, our records officer three, Ms. Erlett Reneau, who passed in June last year. We just want to pay recognition to her and we also want to say thanks very much to the Merit Award Committee for selecting the Archives Department. We feel that we have worked tirelessly, we feel that we deserve it and we want to say thanks very much and we also want to pledge our continuance to work even harder next year.”
Established in 2002 by the United Nations, this year’s Public Service Day was celebrated under the theme: Celebrating Excellence, Inspiring Unity, and Fostering Professionalism.
