Awards and Honours
Perkins was made an honorary fellow of Cardiff University in 2005. The same year she received the Rotary International Community and Vocational Service Award for her services to charity and in 2006 won the inaugural Spirit of everywoman Award. Perkins was the first female optician in the UK to receive the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2007.
After receiving the accolade she commented:
I am absolutely thrilled, as you can imagine. This is a huge honour, not just for me but for everyone at Specsavers, as we all work as a team to give our customers what they want – quality, value for money professional eyecare. This makes me even more determined to passionately pursue the path we set ourselves 25 years ago and to continue to serve the British public.The accolade was also in recognition of her other charitable work, including the Guernsey annual "Specsavers Liberation Tea Dance for pensioners", and her directorship of Women's Refuge and Age Concern. She was awarded the Spirit of Everywoman Award in 2006. She is also a patron to leading children's charity Kidscape
In February 2013 she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.
Read more about this topic: Mary Perkins
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