He has led Wick Harbour Authority through enormous development, while working full time and volunteering for a local historic fishing vessel.
Now Willie Watt, the 57-year-old chairman of the harbour authority, has been made an MBE for services to the community in Wick and Caithness.
He said: “I was absolutely surprised and delighted to receive the honour, you could have knocked me over with a feather.
“The honour reflects the team work of everyone at Wick Harbour and their collective successes.
“The hard working staff do make it and have all helped to turn Wick from a fishing harbour that was down on its luck, into a diversified port which has a bright future.”
Mr Watt has worked in the oil industry for 26 years with Subsea 7, which has a large base at Wester, near Wick. For several years he has been general manager and in charge of its workforce of over 150 people.
He was instrumental in setting up the Caithness Engineering Consortium to train apprentices in the area.
A safety incentive scheme which he set up at the Wester site has provided more than £230,000 to various community organisations.
In spite of all his work responsibilities he still acts as a volunteer on the crew of the renowned local historic fishing vessel, Isabella Fortuna.
Since 2005, when he was appointed as chairman, he has voluntarily been very involved with the management of Wick Harbour Authority.
He has led the Harbour Trust through enormous development with a new marina and pontoons, already used to full capacity.
As a result in 2013 the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority pledged up to £250,000 for the first project in the harbour’s planned upgrade.
The old tradition of a Harbour Queen and Harbour Festival was revived during his leadership. The co-operation and involvement of the board of Wick Harbour Authority has been integral to the success of the events.
