Cllr Lynn Williams was presented with the award by Princess Anne in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Wednesday 25 September alongside her family.
As the first female leader, she has been championing Blackpool and the local community for more than 30 years.
She started as a volunteer for the Citizens Advice Bureau in Blackpool before standing as a councillor in Claremont ward in 2015.
Five years later in 2020, she was appointed as Leader of the Council. One of her first decisions was to undertake a review of all services available to children and young people in the town.
That has since resulted in a new youth provision partnership and development plan, which will see every young person in Blackpool within 20 minutes of a youth facility.
Cllr Williams was a founding member and volunteer of the Magic Club youth facility in her own Claremont ward, the Magic Club was established six years ago. It has since become a hub for more than 400 young people in a ward which includes some of the most deprived areas in the country.
Soon after she was elected as Leader, Cllr Williams also made a declaration that a zero-tolerance approach would be adopted in Blackpool towards the treatment and abuse of women and girls.
That approach saw the launch of the It Stops Here movement with the Council working alongside women, the police, health services, businesses and community groups to create a safe environment that is intolerant of abuse.
As a result of that initiative, 100 police cadets carried out safer street walkabouts to identify where improvements could be made; £10,000 of new lighting was installed; a rapid response van was made available to be used to carry out home safety checks on properties identified as high risk due to domestic violence; a safer taxi scheme was introduced; and Green Dot training was given to scores of people.
During Cllr Williams’ time as Council Leader she has led a successful partnership with the public, private and voluntary sectors for Blackpool to become a Levelling Up pilot. The partnership has worked with Government to bring in nearly £250m of new funding to turbocharge the regeneration of Blackpool, investing in jobs, education and housing, enabling a bright future for the community.
Cllr Williams continues as a Board member of Blackpool Citizens Advice, Chair of Claremont Magic Club and Chair of Claremont Park Community Centre CIC and a practising local solicitor.
Cllr Williams said: