KUCHING, 24 February: Mrs Jill Henry, former Chief Executive Officer of the Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) was conferred the Darjah Gemilang Bintang Kenyalang Sarawak – Johan Bintang Kenyalang (Honorary) [JBK (H)] at a special investiture ceremony held at the Miri Marriot Resort & Spa, on 3 February 2012. The award was presented by the Acting Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Head of State) of Sarawak, Datuk Amar Awang Asfia Awang Nasser, and is only given to foreigners who have rendered exceptional and meritorious service or deeds to the State of Sarawak, the government and the people.
“”It is a tremendous honour to be receiving this prestigious award from the State and to be recognised for my work in Sarawak. I see this award as one that primarily recognises the achievements of the Bureau team rather than me as an individual and commend all my bureau and industry colleagues for their hard work and dedication in successfully launching Sarawak in the international meetings industry,” commented Mrs Henry.
Dato’ Sri Dr. Muhd. Leo Michael Toyad Abdullah commented, “Jill deserves this recognition as she has made an immense contribution to the State by successfully positioning Sarawak as a competitive MICE destination, and placed Kuching on the world map in ICCA’s Asia Pacific City Ranking for the first time ever.”
“Furthermore, she has assisted to make changes to the State’s procedures to benefit the local “Business Tourism” industry- establishing a solid base for clients to access government support and industry assistance. As Chairman, I wish to congratulate her on behalf of the SCB family,” he adds.
Under Mrs Henry’s direction, SCB has secured over 180 conferences to the State, bringing in approximately RM 202 million in direct delegate expenditure, and won acclaim for their destination marketing prowess and has been recognised as worldwide best practice winning 9 international awards for its destination videos and campaigns.
The Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Kenyalang Sarawak (Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak) is the subsequent order group in the state’s Group of Orders after the Darjah Utama Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak (Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak). Among the 6 ranks of this order is the Johan Bintang Kenyalang (Companion of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak), which is limited to 150 recipients at one time.
