Founder, Shareholder and Director of Road Town Wholesale Trading Ltd, Haycraft was awarded with the Queen’s Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services, while Director of the Youth Empowerment Project, Mather bestowed with the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the community and children in the Territory.

Governor Augustus Jaspert in congratulating the two honourees said that he was delighted that Haycraft and Mather have been awarded honours by Her Majesty the Queen.

“I congratulate them both and thank them for all they have done and contributed to the development of this Territory. It is fantastic that these two outstanding BVI citizens have been rightly recognised for their significant contributions.”

The Governor noted that Haycraft has been a leading light in his contribution to business and supporting educational, cultural, sailing and voluntary organisations across the Territory for many years.

Haycraft is known for establishing Road Town Wholesale Trading Ltd. He moved to the Virgin Islands in 1961 with his wife, Penny Haycraft from West Sussex, England. Most recently, Haycraft pledged one million dollars to the rebuilding of the Enis Adams Primary School after it was significantly impacted by Hurricane Irma in 2017.

“Just recently, we saw the efforts by Mr. Haycraft towards the rebuilding of the Enis Adams Primary School - his commitment to young people and our future generations continues,” the Governor indicated.

Governor Jaspert noted that Mather has supported young people in the Virgin Islands for over 15 years and through his leadership of the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), he and his team have provided a safe space for many children from across the Territory to go and develop various skills and talents over the years.

Mather is the Director of YEP, a youth focused organisation that was established in 2006 as a way to provide a safe environment for its clients to hone their skills and talents and forge meaningful relationships with other young people. YEP’s mission is to inspire young people to pursue learning experiences that will help them to become socially responsible citizens.

The Order of the British Empire, OBE is awarded to an individual for their outstanding achievement or service to the community which would have had a long-term significant impact and stand out as an example to others.

The Member of the British Empire status is awarded to an individual for having a major local role in any activity, including people whose work has made them known nationally in their chosen area.