Past President, and the Institution’s first female President, Elizabeth Thomas was awarded with the Institution’s Centenary Medal at the Lighting Live gala dinner in Birmingham.
It is only the second time the medal, the Institution’s highest honour, has been awarded since its inauguration in 2024, when it went to WSP’s Allan Howard.
ILP President Michala Medcalf highlighted Elizabeth’s longstanding service to the Institution, as both Chair of the Midlands Region and then, in 2015, in becoming President.
‘It was a landmark achievement, not only for the Institution, but for the wider lighting profession, and it continues to stand as an enduring symbol of progress and inclusion,’ Michala said.
She also highlighted Elizabeth’s contribution in leading the ILP’s Strategic Implementation Project on membership development. ‘It is work that will shape the future of the Institution and safeguard the integrity of our professional standards for years to come,’ Michala said.
‘Throughout all of this service, one consistent theme has remained clear: a commitment to placing the interests of the profession above all else, while also championing the advancement of women within the lighting industry.
‘For historic leadership, distinguished service to the Institution, personal fortitude in the face of adversity, and an ongoing contribution to the strategic development of the ILP, the Board of Trustees is proud to award only the second Centenary Medal in the Institution’s history,’ she added.
Elizabeth said she was ‘deeply honoured’ to have received the medal, adding that it had come as a total surprise. ‘I had no idea at all!’ she said.
Also at the gala dinner, Ian Harker of Stainton Lighting Design was awarded the Lighting Journal Article of the Year for his ‘important’ article highlighting the continuing risk of asbestos within lighting (‘Managing the magic mineral’, January 2026, vol 91 no 1).
Finally, Jenson Park, AMILP and undergraduate electrical engineer at Services Design Solution, won the Young/Student Engineer Award, sponsored by DW Windsor.
You can read all about Jenson’s membership ‘journey’ in last year’s November/December edition, (‘When you get the certificate, you realise all the hard work has been worth it’, vol 90 no 10)
This is an abridged version of the article that appears in the July/August edition of Lighting Journal. To read the full article, simply click on the page-turner to your right.
Image: Michala Medcalf and Elizabeth Thomas at the Gala Dinner at Lighting Live
