We were delighted to see that P.C. Mark Norman was recognized with an MBE in the New Years’ Honours List for his many years of dedication to the Police Outward Bound programme. (See Royal Gazette at http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20181228/six-bermudians-honoured-by-queen

Mark joined the Bermuda Police back in 1981 after serving in the Suffolk Constabulary from 1976-1981 as a Cadet and then Constable.

Mark spent time in Central Division (Hamilton) and Western Division (Somerset) for the first couple of years in Bermuda, and was seconded to ‘F‘ Department as an Outward Bound instructor during the summer programme in 1982. This was his first taste of Outward Bound!

Mark was transferred to Operations (Traffic) after that first summer, and he became a Driving School Instructor, but Mark returned to O.B. the following year and proved to be such a talented, natural and popular Outward Bound instructor that he was transferred to “F” Department where he worked on the OB programme during the summer, and on the Road Safety Bus during the rest of the year.

I remember writing an Assessment for Mark when I was OIC “F” Department about his ability as a first-class Outward Bound instructor. Mark also did an excellent job on the Police Road Safety Bus visiting schools Islandwide teaching road safety to every class in the schools, and he had volunteered to be an instructor for the Police Super Cyclist Scheme teaching youngsters how to ride their bikes safely.

There are some people who might question whether police officers should be devoting their time and energies to activities such as Outward Bound and teaching Road Safety, but one of the biggest criticisms of the Police at that time was the lack of positive contact with children and young people. That was exactly the purpose of programmes such as Outward Bound, the Road Safety Programme and the annual Pedal Cycle Gymkhana   -  bridging the gap between the Police and Bermuda's young people - and Mark was the ideal man for the job.

During Mark's time as the Officer in Charge of Outward Bound the programme was expanded to include not only the annual overseas courses in the U.K. and the U.S.A., but also weekly courses on Paget Island during the summer, and additional one-day and weekend courses aimed to appeal to young people from less advantaged families.

Mark was also involved with organizing one-day courses for staff of major businesses designed to encourage staff cooperation while also helping to raise funds for the Outward Bound Programme.

One of the first articles we published on our ExPo website was the lifestory of Sergeant Lynn Hall who helped to create the first Outward Bound programme in Bermuda along with Tony Diggins, and Lynn was in charge of the Outward Bound programme for many years and he became known as “Mr. Outward Bound”.

Mark Norman has carried on this tradition in every sense of the word. During his tenure in Outward Bound it has grown in leaps and bounds due to his dedication and hard work - no doubt at the expense of progressing through the ranks in other departments.

Mark has positively influenced the lives of many hundreds of young Bermudians to whom he will always be known as “Mr. Outward Bound” a title he richly deserves to have inherited from the legendary Lynn Hall. You can view Lynn Hall's  “Then and Now” article at http://expobermuda.com/index.php/tan/33-lhall