Yet those around the other three distinguished volunteers appeared to be able to remain silent, because Michael Forrester from Schagen, Sjoerd van Zanten from Schagerbrug and Alex Bakker from Callantsoog thought they had come to Slot Schagen for someone else.
Nautical skills
Michael Forrester, originally British, is very active as a volunteer both inside and outside Schagen. Since 2009, he has been teaching children and young people in Heerhugowaard all the nautical skills available. Whether they later join the Navy doesn’t matter, according to Forrester. “But of course it is always good preparation,” says Forrester. He is also a volunteer at the Huis van Hilde Archeology Museum in Castricum.
He has been committed to Schagen itself since 2011 as a curator, acolyte, sexton and technical service employee of the Sint Christoforus parish and he is harbor master in Schagen.
Turn
When Jan Prij from Schagen was called forward, Mayor Marjan van Kampen said: “You got up this morning and probably thought: ‘It’s raining ribbons today, so it must be my turn now,'” which caused them to laugh. got on her hand. Prij reacted quickly by saying that he had a suspicion.
And that is not entirely unjustified, given his track record. For example, from 1968 to 1974 he was an elder and scribe of the Reformed Church in Krabbendam, he has been a pastoral elder and more of the Protestant community of Schagen since 1975 and he has been a board member and chairman of the Historical Association De Zijpe since 2005 and editor-in-chief of De Zijper Historical. Blades.
Laconic
Sjoerd van Zanten from Schagerbrug remained quite laconic under all the sudden attention. “I thought I was going here for a friend and thought: ‘Why not, I have nothing else to do today.’ It was a good thing that he indeed had nothing else to do, because he was awarded for his decades-long commitment to Theater Association OEK in Schagerbrug and for the extensive work he has been doing at the hospice in Schagen since 2017. In addition, he has been a pioneer in West Frisian Folklore since 2008. And that is not an empty job, because he is partly responsible for the safety of the audience and participants. “For example, there are more and more boosters and walkers in the audience and it can be quite cramped. So you have to pay attention,” says Sjoerd van Zanten.
KNRM
The last finisher on Friday morning was Alex Bakker from Callantsoog. He was a boarder at the KNRM in Callantsoog from 1993 to 2008, was a helper of the Coastal Emergency Vehicle from 2008 to 2013 and has been the driver of the launch vehicle since 2013. “My father was with the KNRM, my brother was with it, so one day I thought: ‘I’ll join us too. And I never left.” For this commitment he was also appointed a member of the Order of Orange Nassau.
Mayor Marjan van Kampen among the four new members of the Order of Orange Nassau and the new Knight of the Order of Orange Nassau.© Photo Pierre Mettes Photography
Waarland village house
Earlier Friday morning, five residents of the municipality of Schagen were awarded in the Waarland Village Hall.
Paul Bakker from Waarland, like three others, was decorated as a member of the Order of Orange Nassau. The fifth became a knight in the order of Orange Nassau.
Bakker was a board member at JASS in Waarland from 2000 to 2009. Together with his wife Hannie, he also organizes a weekly skating morning on Saturdays for the youth of the Sint Jan primary school in Waarland. He has also been secretary of the Ice Club in Waarland since 2009, volunteer, coach and trainer of the hand and football club Con Zelo since 2012, initiator of indoor football club Con Zelo since 2018 and from 2017 to 2019 he was (co-)initiator of setting up a sports hall in Waarland.
Patient transport
Grada Wit-Spaansesen from Tuitjenhorn received her award for her volunteer work (since 1997) at patient transport at the Northwest Hospital in Alkmaar, she has been a volunteer at De Zonnebloem, Tuitjenhorn/Kalverdijk department since 2005, and she worked as a volunteer at the Friends of the Foundation from 2009 to 2019. Joseph and has been a collector at the Rheumatism Fund Netherlands and the Netherlands since 2010. Burn Foundation.
Since Friday, Jos Zutt from Waarland can also call himself a member of the Order of Orange Nassau. He has been awarded for his work as treasurer and volunteer at Zonnebloem, Waarland department, since 1990.
Truus Rood-Zutt from Warmenhuizen was awarded, among other things, for her volunteer work at cycling club Alcmaria Victrix, in which she has been involved since 1975. She has also been a volunteer at athletics club NOVA since 1980 and has been a volunteer at St Adelbert Abbey in Egmond-Binnen since 2017.
Knight
The only new knight in the Order of Orange Nassau is Erik ten Winkel from St. Maarten. He received this award, among other things, for his volunteer work at the Hortus in Alkmaar (since 2018). He was also a board member of the TAO Foundation (Foundation for the Promotion of Aquatic Ecology) from 1995 to 2000, he was an expert/advisor at the PUM (Programme Uitzending Managers) from 2009 to 2017, and he was chairman of the VVE from 2014 to 2022. Horse Market Alkmaar and has been a volunteer at the ConcertCheck Alkmaar Foundation since 2018.
