There is something new sitting on the office desk of supermarket boss Giorgio Zanol. It is a stone cairn ornament featuring the inspirational words ‘Wish It, Dream It, Do It’.

The stone cairn was gifted to him by fellow supermarket boss Anthony Aguiar, of Harrington Hundreds, because he had made other grocers on the Island proud of his achievements.

It is one of many expressions of thanks Mr Zanol has received since being named in the Queen’s New Year Honour’s List.

This summer Mr Zanol visited Buckingham Palace with his wife Marilyn and sons Marco and Andre, where he was presented with an MBE (Member of the British Empire) medal by Prince Charles.

It was a proud and humbling moment for the president of the Lindo’s Group of Companies.

Also being presented to the Prince of Wales that day were others who had helped their communities or shown heroism in conflict zones or achieved remarkable feats, such as double Olympic champion Mo Farah and film star Ewan McGregor.

As Prince Charles gave Mr Zanol his MBE he mentioned his own visit to Bermuda and spoke about the 72-year-old becoming the oldest competitor to complete the Everest Marathon in December 2011.

“I was taken aback that he knew that. I said I went with my son [Marco] to raise money for diabetes charities,” said Mr Zanol.

“Prince Charles was a great person, and he was talking to everyone who went up to him.”

Mr Zanol was awarded the MBE in recognition of his contribution to charity and the community (he has helped raise more than $250,000 for charity, much of it going the Bermuda Diabetes Association).

In the weeks that followed Mr Zanol was interviewed by a regional radio station in the Dolomites region of Italy, from where he hails.

He arrived in Bermuda 50 years ago and became a well-known road runner on the Island after taking up the sport in the late 1970s. It is through running, particularly long and ultra-distance mountain events, that he has raised funds for charity.

Mr Zanol has been touched by the response of customers and others to his MBE recognition. “I tell people there are others who have done better things, but they say ‘No, you are helping others too.’”

Mr Zanol is looking to continue his running adventures and doing further fund-raising. A trip to Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, is one future possibility.

He said: “The MBE made me feel glad to know that God had put us all here for a reason, and for me that reason is helping people.”