, South Pacific Division Record, writing from Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia
Roger Millist, the outgoing CEO of Adventist Aviation
Services, has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal as part of Queen
Elizabeth II’s birthday celebrations.
Millist was decorated with one of Australia’s top honors on
Monday for his “service to international relations through a range of aviation
and church roles in Papua New Guinea.”
“I feel very humbled to have been nominated
and awarded,” Millist said in an interview. “My aim in life has always been to put
others and their needs ahead of my own and to serve to the best of my ability
using the talents God has given me and allowed me to develop.”
The Order of Australia Medal recognizes an individual’s
outstanding achievement and service locally and internationally.
Millist has worked for 16 years as a pilot and engineer in Papua New
Guinea, commonly referred to as PNG.
But he was quick to acknowledge the work of
other missionaries who have made a “greater contribution to both aviation and
the development of PNG.”
“I don’t feel I have done any more than
many others who have worked and served in PNG over the years,” he said. “In accepting this award, I accept it on behalf of all who have served
the needs of the remote villages of PNG.”
The medal isn’t Millist’s first brush with royalty. In
April, he was invited to participate in Prince William’s tour of the Pacific Aerospace Limited aircraft factory in New Zealand. Following the tour, Millist presented the Duke of Cambridge
with a copy of 50 Years: Adventist
Aviation 1964-2014.
Adventist Aviation Services is celebrating 50 years of
operations in Papua New Guinea this year, with a special jubilee being held in the
city of Goroka from July 3-6.
