A SPORTSWOMAN who guided Britain to Paralympic glory and a mum who helped hundreds of people get jobs are among 12 people who are the pride of Notts today.
The dozen have been named on the Queen's birthday honours list.
Penny Briscoe, of Gamston, gets an MBE after she helped put the country and disabled sport on the world stage last summer.
As the British Paralympic Association's director of sport, she helped engineer team GB's haul of 120 medals – the country's best-ever Paralympic performance.
Ms Briscoe, 47, a former international canoeist, said she was "humbled".
"I think a barrier was broken last summer," she said.
"It was a moment in time with the creation of fantastic infrastructure and the support from the public for every Paralympic athlete was incredible."
She gets her award for services to disabled sport and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Anna Mimms, chief executive of Broxtowe Education, Skills and Training (Best) also gets an MBE for services to social enterprise and the community.
Best has given training to over 3,000 Notts job seekers and found work for 900 of them.
Mrs Mimms, 49, from Woodborough, first heard the news when her husband called to ask to read a letter she had got from the Cabinet Office.
Her youngest son, Zachary, eight, was convinced she had received a letter from James Bond.
She said: "I swear to goodness I have never experienced going weak at the knees and I had to get my father to talk to my husband just to confirm that I had heard it right.
"For me it was a wonderful, wonderful moment and it just made everything worthwhile."
David Robinson, the president of Speedo, the Nottingham firm whose swimsuits have been used by Olympians like Rebecca Adlington, is awarded an OBE for his services to the economy. He described it as a "huge honour."
Sarah Curran, 40, founder of fashion website My Wardrobe also gets an MBE, while Professor Nick Miles from the University of Nottingham gets an OBE.
Ms Curran said: "I'm in complete shock, I'm so honoured, particularly as it's for services to the fashion industry. I'm passionate about supporting young designers across the globe.
Sarah, from Market Harborough, founded My Wardrobe in 2006. The business operates out of premises on Blenheim Industrial Estate, Bulwell.
Professor Miles gets his award for his work to further educational interests between the UK and China.
He is pro-vice-chancellor and provost of the University of Nottingham's campus in Ningbo, China, which has 5,500 students and more than 500 staff. He has been based in China since 2009 and took charge of the campus in 2010.
He said: "This is the culmination of the hard work and dedication of many people in the UK and China. I'm very pleased and proud."
The full list of Notts people on the Queen's list are:
CBE
Elaine Joy Beardsley-Turton (Nottingham), Brian Stein (East Bridgford)
OBE
Richard Bullock (Scarrington), Professor Nick Miles (Nottingham) David Robinson (Nottingham).
MBE
John Bancroft (Stanton-by-Dale), Penny Briscoe (Gamston), Sarah Curran (Nottingham), Melanie Futer (Lowdham) Anna Mimms (Woodborough) Elizabeth Weston (Mansfield)
British Empire Medal
Pamela Marie Andrews (Nottingham).
