Executive Council has given its approval for the following persons to be awarded the Anguilla Badge of Honour.
All awards are in the category of Social Development.
Ms Irma Geneva Carty
Ms Irma Carty, affectionately known as “Nurse Nanton”, was born in St Kitts to an Anguillian father. After working for several years at the Joseph N France Hospital in St Kitts, she took up appointment in the Anguilla Public Service in 1981 as a Registered Nurse/ Midwife and was later promoted to Ward Sister at the Cottage Hospital. She dedicated many years of her life to serving the people of Anguilla in the area of healthcare and in 2019 was inducted into the Ministry of Health’s Nurses Hall of Fame.
Her dedication to her profession and her compassionate nature went beyond her official duties. Though officially retired, she still uses her nursing expertise in the community by visiting the homebound to assist with blood pressure and blood sugar checks. She facilitates sessions for youth on the topics of first aid and healthy eating habits.
Additionally, Ms Carty was and is heavily involved in community activities and has served in various capacities in various community and cultural organisations, all geared towards uplifting the Anguillian people. These include:
• The Lion’s Club of Anguilla
• Carnival Queen Committee
• Community Policing Group
• National Creative Arts Association
• Sunshine Theatre Company
• Anguilla Choral Circle
• Mayoumba Folkloric Theatre group
• Co-Host of Kool FM Radio programme and organiser of the station’s special events for children.
Her life is one of service to others.
Ms Joan Harriet Carty
Ms Joan Carty, affectionately called Nurse Joan, is an icon in The Valley community. She has dedicated her entire life to caring for others. Nurse Joan began her nursing career in 1960 at the age of 17 years. She worked in every area of nursing care and became so proficient that she trained and supervised incoming nurses. From the Cottage Hospital to the Princess Alexandra Hospital Nurse Joan maintained her caring disposition, and even after her retirement she still put her skills to use as a caretaker at various homes – and eventually as Centre Manager at the Rosewood Centre for senior citizens where she still serves.
In her community, Nurse Joan is a leader and a mentor. She became a Girl Guide at the age of 10 years and has been involved in the Anguilla Girl Guide Association for over 60 years. Nurse Joan is a leader in the organisation and has worked in all branches including the Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers. In this role she has molded young girls into becoming responsible and respectable citizens. She also used her influence as a leader to pass on many cultural traditions such as the cake-walk, maypole dancing, crocheting, cooking, sewing and other life skills. Numerous young women have benefitted from her nurturing.
Ms Shara Proctor
Shara Proctor is an Anguillian long jumper who currently competes for Great Britain. She has proven herself to be an exceptional athlete and is the national record holder for both Anguilla and Great Britain. As a young athlete, Ms Proctor competed for Anguilla at several events where she established a record of excellence as a long jumper:
Year Event Result
2003 CARIFTA (U17) bronze
2004 CARIFTA (U17) silver
2004 CAC Junior Championships (U17) gold
2005 CARIFTA (U20) silver
2006 CARIFTA (U20) gold
2006 CAC Junior Championships (U20) bronze
2007 CARIFTA (U20) gold
2008 CAC Championships silver
2008 NACAC U23 Championships silver
2009 CAC Championships gold
2010 NACAC U23 Championships gold
In 2010 she announced that she would be competing for Great Britain, and continued to excel while ensuring that she placed Anguilla’s name on the world stage.
In 2012 Ms Proctor won her first senior medal for Great Britain, a bronze in the long jump in the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships, after a national indoor record leap of 6.89 metres. In 2015 she earned a silver medal at the Doha IAAF Diamond League. Later that same year, at the World Championships in Beijing, she became the first British female long jumper to exceed 7 metres when she jumped 7.07 metres setting a new British record and earning another silver medal.
Ms Proctor went on to become an Olympic finalist in the long jump at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and in 2018 she earned two bronze medals: one at the European Championships in Berlin and the other at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Ms Proctor engages in several philanthropic efforts geared towards supporting and mentoring young people involved in sports in Anguilla.
Mr Zharnel Hughes
Zharnel Hughes is an Anguillian sprint sensation. He was awarded a scholarship in 2012 to attend the IAAF Regional High Performance Training Centre in Jamaica. He had the opportunity to train alongside some of the world’s greatest sprinters. He holds the Anguillian national record in both the 100m and 200m, and has personal bests of 9.91 seconds for the 100m and 20.02 seconds for the 200m.
Mr Hughes began representing Great Britain in 2015 and immediately cemented his place with a win at the 2015 British Athletic Championships. As of June 2018, he is the second fastest British 100m sprinter in history – and fourth fastest European. His time of 20.02 seconds in the 200m ranks him the fourth fastest British 200m sprinter. He was named the male athlete of the year in 2018 at the British Athletics Writers’ Association Awards. Mr Hughes is an Olympic finalist having competed in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Below is a record of his accomplishments in major competitions.
Year Event Race Result
2012 CARIFTA Games (U20) 100m bronze
2012 Leeward Islands Jr Champs (U20) 100m gold
200m gold
4×100 relay bronze
2012 CAC Junior Championships (U18) 100m silver
200m gold
2013 CARIFTA Games (U20) 100m gold
2013 Pan American Jr Champs 100m gold
2014 CAC Junior Championships (U20) 200m gold
2017 European Team Championships 4 x100 relay gold
2018 Commonwealth Games 4 x100 relay gold
2018 European Championship 100m gold
4 x100 relay gold
2019 World Championships 4 x100 relay silver
As an Adidas sponsored athlete, Zharnel Hughes has donated training gear – and held training sessions for young Anguillian athletes to support their development.
– Contributed
