Janet Graham, a well-respected and hard-working member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently received an MBE from her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace, following a nomination from her employer, the Luton and Dunstable Hospital. Janet has served in many areas tirelessly and recently served a full-time mission for the Church for 20 months in Scotland with her husband, John. Upon returning to her home town however, her husband was called to serve as the bishop of the Luton congregation, and at the same time Janet was notified by letter (May 2013) that she had been nominated for an MBE, a Member of the British Empire. This meant her name would be presented to Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II, as well as appearing in the local newspaper and in 'The Guardian'.
The Luton and Dunstable Hospital nominated her not just for her 41 years of service, but also for charity work. The Chief Executive of the hospital, Stephen Ramsden, remarked, “Janet has been key in getting members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to help with service projects i.e. 'Helping Hands'." Members of the local congregation regularly cleaned hospital car parks and hospital grounds and were involved in projects such as painting corridors and the main boardroom. Janet organised an area 'Helping Hands' day activity where members painted bollards, waste bins and flower containers.
Since Janet’s retirement she has continued to work as a volunteer with her husband and every Monday morning they spend their valuable time cataloguing all the historical artefacts from the hospital. Janet also spends time telephoning discharged patients asking about the quality of care and determining where care and communication can be improved.
When asked how she felt about receiving such a prestigious honour Janet commented, “Shock at first, and my goodness I have been rewarded for doing a job I loved so much! There was never a day when I didn’t want to go to work.” Janet continues, “I have loved my work and my husband John has been very supportive, I thank the Lord for helping me with my earlier path”.
Janet was invited to Buckingham Palace on November 28th for her investiture and felt very blessed to have Her Majesty the Queen perform the ceremony. Her husband and two sisters were able to accompany her.
Janet started her working career as a young girl in an office for 18 months but as her confidence grew she knew it wasn’t her path and pursued nursing instead. Nursing has given her so many opportunities including teaching, lecturing at university as well as patient care and being a member of the Church has increased Janet’s natural ability to serve wherever she is needed.