Loch Ness RNLI volunteer receives Red Cross silver medal from Prince Albert in Monaco
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A volunteer with Loch Ness RNLI has been presented with a special medal by Prince Albert of Monaco.
Linda Izquierdo-Ross received a Red Cross Silver medal at the palace in recognition of over 10 years of voluntary service as medical communication at the Sortie Tunnel at the Grand Prix in Monaco.
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Linda joined the Loch Ness RNLI lifeboat station as a volunteer crew member in 2008 and became a deputy launch authority in 2018. She is also the lifeboat station's lead in education.
Throughout that time, she has also volunteered her expertise at the Formula 1 races held in Silverstone and Monaco.
She said she was "really honoured" to receive the medal, and she particularly enjoyed the Prince's speech in which he referred to volunteering and assisting each other in times of need as the essence of a functioning society.
Joanna Stebbings, lifeboat operations manager at Loch Ness RNLI, said: "We are all incredibly proud of Linda here at Loch Ness RNLI and delighted for her volunteer work to be recognised in this way."
It is not the first time her efforts have been recognised by royalty.
Linda, who manned Covid-19 helplines for the Red Cross, was given a special commemorative coin by the Duchess of Cambridge to thank her for her work.
She said at the time she had always felt the need to give back.
She said when her family initially moved to Australia from Spain in the 1950s, they were helped by the Red Cross and after almost drowning as a child, she had always been interested in water safety which was why she helped the RNLI.
