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CHANNEL ISLANDS AIRSEARCH |
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| The Lifeboats' eyes in the sky - 30th Anniversary Year 1980 - 2010 | ||
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Guernsey Friends of Air SearchPresident's Report 2008The last 12 months seem to have gone very quickly and, as a committee, we have arranged and attended many events during the year in our continued efforts to raise funds for the service. During the course of the year, the Guernsey Friends, supported by the crew, have arranged a number of Hangar Evenings. Visiting groups have included Royal C I Yacht Club, 6th Guernsey Cub Scouts, Lloyds TSB Offshore, and the Guernsey Occupational Health & Safety Association – all being very impressed with what they saw and heard, and generating further support from within the community. The Friends also attended various events over the summer to publicise the work of the organisation, including the Classic Car Show at Saumarez Park, St Saviour’s Revels, and the West Show, as well as holding a Flag Day in July and marshalling the car park at Saumarez Manor for the Farmers Markets once a month over the summer. In September, the usual vin d’honneur for visiting pilots attending the Annual Air Rally was held in the Hangar, and we were again present at the Static Display. All these events help to raise public awareness of the service and, at the same time, raise funds. We organised a quiz night in February, which was over-subscribed, and was enjoyed by all. We have been asked to hold another one, which we will do in 2009. The Karting Endurance event took place in April. Ten teams took part in the three hour endurance, with six drivers in each team. This was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon, and was a closely fought race in the closing laps. All winners were presented with trophies, and we raised around £1400. In August we held an Open Garden at Les Prevost Farm, by kind permission of Mr & Mrs Chesney. We were fortunate with the weather, and were kept busy providing cream teas for a large number of people. We are again taking part in the Christmas Tree Festival in the Town Church during December in the run-up to Christmas. In addition to these events, our Annual Draw has again proved to be very popular and a regular source of revenue along with sales of Christmas cards in all the islands. Our collecting-boxes, both at the airport and around the island, along with the sale of merchandise and used stamps, all help to bring in extra funds. Whilst this income is very necessary, we continue to be extremely grateful to the local businesses and companies who make generous donations to our fundraising effort, by supporting us with such events as dress down days. These donations are vital to our being able to maintain the level of funding needed to maintain the service. As ever, I must mention the welcome support we get from our Friends in both Alderney and Sark, with particular mention of the amazing efforts of the Simply Sark Team in raising £2500. The other islands continue to support the service, for which we are very grateful. The Friends Committee is saying goodbye to Julie Watson who has been with us for seven years and we thank her for the many hours of her time which she gave up to support us during that time. We welcome the addition of Jacky Ozanne as Secretary, and Jane Green and Sheila Cornelius as new Committee members. Thanks to the efforts of the Friends and the support of local people and businesses, I am delighted to report that in the financial year ending in June, the Friends were able to pay over to the Trustees a total of £50,000. The Friends have had a successful year fund-raising, but the operating costs and necessary maintenance on the aircraft are a continuous drain on funds, and the job of raising money does not get any easier, particularly with so many local charities vying for financial support. That said, I am always heartened by people’s obvious affection and support for Channel Islands Air Search. Finally, I would like to again offer sincere thanks to all the Friends, helpers and supporters, both individual and corporate, of Channel Islands Air Search who have helped us achieve the results of the last twelve months. I should also like to offer my own thanks to all the members of the Committee who have done so much to support the organisation. We must also remember the huge contribution made by the crew, without which there would be no service, as well as the work done by the Jersey Friends. Thank you all for your support.
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The Queen's award for Voluntary Service 2005
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Please email us if you require more information about the work of the charity. A Registered Charity in Jersey (no. 104) and in Guernsey (no. 53)Copyright © 2002-2010 Channel Islands Air Search |
