How quickly a year goes! This will be my last High Sheriff’s column, and I will be handing on the baton (or perhaps more accurately, the ostrich feather) to Montgomeryshire’s Sally Roberts at a ceremony in Llangadfan on April 25.

It has been a great privilege and also an enormous pleasure to hold the role. I have criss-crossed the county from Abercraf to Presteigne and from Machynlleth to Crickhowell. In the course of doing so, I have come to appreciate the many voluntary organisations that do so much to make our communities flourish – sports clubs, YFCs, WIs, churches, Scouts and Guides, St John Ambulance, army cadets.

Organisations are made up of people, and it has been humbling to have met so many of these volunteers. It is amazing what they do – from conservation and cave rescue to food banks and refugee support. That has been truly heartening and has restored my faith in human nature.

PAVO plays a blinder in supporting voluntary organisations across the county. With their help and advice, I will this month have the privilege of presenting Certificates of Recognition to some outstanding individuals and groups in each of Powys’s three historic counties. I am looking forward to that very much.

The traditional High Sheriff’s role is to support the justice system. As a magistrate myself, I know the important voluntary role that magistrates perform, and I have been glad to work this year with JPs across the county. I have also met family and employment judges and coroners and sat in their courts, as well as meeting High Court and Court of Appeal judges visiting Wales. I have also been able to see some of the work of the blue light services who keep us safe.

Most High Sheriffs choose to support during their year of office a charity or charities that have a resonance for them. My experience as a JP has made me acutely aware of the pernicious nature of domestic abuse and its ruinous effect on individuals and families. That is why I have chosen to highlight the work of Calan DVS in south Powys and the Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre (MFCC) in the north, as well as to raise some money for them.

My very last event as High Sheriff will be to host a lecture in Brecon on April 24, when Professor Jane Monckton-Smith, one of the country’s foremost experts on femicide, will be speaking. It is a sobering subject, but so important that we recognise how domestic abuse can escalate into murder. It is no exaggeration to say that Calan DVS and MFCC are in the business of preventing that escalation and protecting the potential victims in our county. They are extraordinary organisations that we all should support. If you would like to attend the lecture, email me on: [email protected]

Let me sign off by thanking everyone who has been so kind and supportive to me over the last year. Being High Sheriff of Powys has truly been a privilege.