17 Zoetermeerders Royal decorated during the Ribbon Race

Member in the Order of Orange-Nassau

On behalf of His Majesty the King, Mayor Bezuijen appointed 15 Zoetermeerders to the Order of Orange-Nassau:

Mr. A.W.T.M. van den Berg | For almost 20 years Mr. Van den Berg has been committed to the Association BOE4 (breed association for the dog breed 'Bouvier des Flandres'). As president, as organizer of lectures and events, as representative of his association at national meetings on pedigree dogs and through his contributions to the club magazine. He has also initiated and contributed to research at the Wetenschapswinkel of Wageningen University & Research on the breeding of healthy pedigree dogs.

Mr. J.H. Granneman | Since 1980, Mr. Granneman has been committed to his faith community. Within the Evangelical Congregation Parousia, he held a variety of positions, including elder, treasurer, secretary and currently rental coordinator and facilities manager. He organized marriage courses for many years, led youth groups and camps, and preaches twice a year. He also gives Bible studies, counsels church members in vulnerable situations and supports newcomers. His commitment extends further: he contributed to renovation projects, worked to make the church more sustainable, and gave acoustical advice to other congregations.

Mrs. J.K. Granneman-Vos | For 44 years, Mrs. Granneman-Vos has been actively involved in the Parousia Evangelical Church. She fulfilled various roles, including coordinator of the Sunday school and founder of the nursery for babies and toddlers. Starting in 1994, she led a youth group with weekly meetings and organized the annual youth camp. She also gave Bible studies and mentored new believers. For four years she provided the "marriage course" for 10 couples a year. To this day, Mrs. Granneman-Vos is active in Holy Communion, gives Bible studies for young and old, and supports the facilities team.

Mrs. E. Loof | Mrs. Loof has been an active volunteer in various fields for many years. At the Burns Foundation, she has been responsible for the annual collection in her region for 24 years. At the Prince Claus School, she fulfilled various roles: assistant parent, board member of the overblijf and photographer. At the Scouting Ashanti group she is team leader, organizer of activities and responsible for membership recruitment. In addition, she has been president of women's choir Enjoy for 7 years.

Mr. H. van Maanen | Since 1988, Mr. Van Maanen has been active as a volunteer with the Harpe Davids Christian Music Society in many different roles. For 36 years he has been organizing the annual Tattoo, the musical conclusion of Kings Day, he is the creative brain of the Melody Percussion Corps (MPC) and Harpe Davids Indoor Percussion (H!P), and he has also been the chairman for six years. In this position, Mr. Van Maanen also set up Harpe Davids Unlimited. A music group for people with intellectual disabilities.

Mr. M. van Pelt | Since his retirement, Mr. Van Pelt has been a police volunteer with the The Hague unit, where he is active as a driver and traffic controller on a weekly basis (460 hours per year). He supports various police tasks, from transportation to event guidance. For example, he is behind the wheel of the loader with semi-trailer of the Mobile Media Lab, which is used to provide information at schools and every year he rides in a police vehicle with the Ooievaarsrun, a touring trip for people with mental disabilities through The Hague and the Westland. He also volunteers with De Zonnebloem and UVV, where he accompanies and transports vulnerable people as a driver.

Mr. L.M. den Riet | Mr. Den Riet has been active for more than 10 years as volunteer manager of the church building of the Protestant District Church of Zoetermeer-North. Together with his wife, he coordinates all activities and services in the building and is available at almost any time. In addition, he was scribe of the Protestant classis Zoetermeer (2006-2009), responsible for, among other things, reporting and administrative tasks. He was also chairman of the task force Pastorate of the District Church Council.

Mrs. J.B. den Riet-de Bruin | Since 2014, Mrs. Den Riet-de Bruin has been volunteering with the Protestant District Church of Zoetermeer-North. She supports her husband in the management of the church building and has been coordinating activities in the kitchen, including catering at concerts, elderly activities and church services for ten years. She is also involved in funeral preparations and ensures that Sunday services run smoothly. During the renovation of the church (2012-2014), she actively helped with painting work.

Mr. H.V. Rombley | In 1970, Mr. Rombley founded baseball club The Arrows, consisting of members of Antillean descent. Under his guidance, the men's baseball team Arrows I managed to promote. He then coached the boys baseball team of Baseball Association The Birds to the championship. Between 2001 and 2019, Mr. Rombley devoted himself to the Antillean cultural association Caribbean Lagoon. As a board member, his duties included collecting and shipping medical supplies to nursing homes in Aruba. He organized annual family days for Antilleans living in the Netherlands, Caribbean events and pampering days for young people from underprivileged households in Rotterdam. In 2004 he became chairman of the choir committee of the American Protestant Church of The Hague.

Ms. A.I. van Santvoord | For 12 years, Ms. Van Santvoord devoted herself to the care of chronically ill children at Villa Expert Care. Later she worked as a hostess at the SEH of the HagaZiekenhuis and since 2023 she has been active at thrift store Het Goed. Here she combines store work with assisting people with a distance to the labor market.
Note: Due to her stay abroad, Ms. Van Santvoord received a video message from the mayor with her appointment as Member in the Order of Orange-Nassau. The royal decoration will soon be presented to her personally.

Mr. P. Sinke | Mr. Sinke is founder of the Zoetermeer wheelchair four-day event, an event that started with 15 participants and has grown to over 400. He has been organizing it for 18 years, from sponsor recruitment to consultation with emergency services. Until last year, Mr. Sinke, himself 83, pushed elderly people in wheelchairs. Last year he worked as a traffic controller. He is now in the process of setting up a foundation so that this event can continue to exist when he himself is no longer able to organize it.

Mr. J. van der Vet | For 54 years, Mr. Van der Vet has volunteered for the Hague Police Sports Association. He gave swimming lessons to children and police officers, organized water polo training and competitions, arranged facilities and sponsorships and serves as an instructor for sea rescue swimming. In addition, he is active as a director within the association. Since 2018 he is also a volunteer at the Nature Garden Zoetermeer, where he is involved in maintenance work such as pruning, mowing and taking care of paths and ditches.

Mrs. M.H. Visser-van der Plas |For decades, Mrs. Visser-van der Plas has been active as a volunteer, including at elementary schools (more than 34 years) where she provided educational support. For 40 years she has been committed to the East Church, including visiting the elderly and organizing church services. She was active for over 20 years as collection coordinator for ReumaNederland and volunteered as a remedial teacher at elementary schools.

Mr. L.J. van der Weerden | For 25 years, Mr. Van der Weerden has been active in the scouting world, both at De Vliegende Hollander and Scouting Pocahontas Zoetermeer, where he held numerous positions, from team leader to group chairman and treasurer. He played a key role in the establishment of new groups, construction of club buildings and board work. In addition, he was conductor and president of vocal ensemble Che Passione (2015-2023) and founded the choir Melange Vocale in 2023. He also supports the national Scouting Academy.

Mrs. E.R. Wouterloot |All her life, Mrs. Wouterloot has been active as a volunteer. Currently she travels in her electric wheelchair, together with service dog Mak, all over the country to draw attention to and raise money for the service dog foundation. She gives demonstrations and lectures, guest lessons at schools and was an actor in the latest film of the Postcode Lottery. She has also been a member and vice president of the Accessibility Council in Zoetermeer since its inception in 2017. The Mennonite Church can also count on Ms. Wouterloot in the organization of guest preachers and the church weekend, the editing of the church magazine and the musical accompaniment of church services.

On behalf of His Majesty the King, Mayor Jules Bijl of neighboring Lansingerland appointed a resident of Zoetermeer a Member in the Order of Orange-Nassau:

Mrs. Luijken-van Beekum | For more than 26 years, Mrs. Luijken-van Beekum has been the face and voice of the Youth Festival Berkel en Rodenrijs. She and her team took care of the scripts, devised games and collected materials. She also helped recruit sponsors. Besides being a member of the board, she was also the chairman of the foundation for a number of years. She is ready every year to make the Youth Festival a party for all the children and the volunteers.

Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau

On behalf of His Majesty the King, Mayor Bezuijen appointed a Zoetermeer to Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau:

Mr. S.J. de Waard | For 58 years, Mr. De Waard has been active as an FNV executive and has helped thousands of members with questions about work and income. He has also supported citizens with tax returns and trained new fillers for 31 years. At VluchtelingenWerk, he helps status holders with financial matters and reviews refugee stories. Mr. De Waard writes and improves Wikipedia articles, particularly on the topic of ships and shipping. In addition, he has contributed to the Wikimedia Common image library with more than 22,000 self-created photos. He has also been active in preserving sailing heritage for 23 years and is skipper on an open tour boat in Zoeterwoude and the surrounding area during the sailing season.