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Guernsey Friends of Air Search 

President's Report 2009

As ever, the last 12 months seem to have gone very quickly and we now find ourselves looking forward to our 30^th anniversary next year.  We hope to keep the service very much in the public eye during the year in our continued efforts to raise funds, and make the most of being Channel Television’s partner charity.

Since our last AGM, we have attended a variety of events to both promote the service and raise funds.  We took part in the Christmas Tree Festival held in the Town Church for the second year running.  We had a stall at the Classic Car Show at Saumarez Park in June, with the added attraction of a Smart car filled with Air Search teddies for people to try and guess how many.  The only correct answer was a young lady aged 7 and she won the prize of £25 and an Air Search teddy.  We also attended the Forest Church Summer Fete, and the Donkey Derby.  On 8 September, Bob Twist did a tandem skydive over L’Eree, raising funds for the service, and getting great coverage on Channel Television.  The "Meet the Pilots" static display on 9 September during Aviation Week was a great success, with a large number of people queuing up to see around the aircraft.  Our grateful thanks go to the organisers of the Festival of the Sea in Sark which was held on 12 September, as they do every year to raise funds for the service.  All these events help to raise public awareness of the service and, at the same time, raise funds.

I must again mention the continued support we get from our Friends in both Alderney and Sark, and the other islands, for which we are very grateful. 

In addition to these events, our Annual Draw has again proved to be popular and it is a regular source of income along with sales of Christmas cards in all the islands.  Our collecting-boxes, both at the airport and around the island, together 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.  

Wayne Le Prevost resigned from the Friends Committee earlier this year, due to other commitments.  Jane Green has also decided not to stand again, as she is due to return to Scotland early next year.  We thank them both for their help and support. 

Reg Noble has decided to retire from the committee, after many years of service. We are hugely grateful to Reg for his support and time in covering events, and assisting with merchandise and Christmas cards. 

I must also mention Richard Corcoran, who sadly passed away in Canada recently.  Richard served on the committee for some years, and continued to assist with the collecting boxes up until his departure from Guernsey last year.  Our condolences go to his family and friends, as well as our thanks for requesting donations to the service in Richard’s memory. 

Thanks to the efforts of the Friends and the support of local people and businesses, I am pleased to report that in the financial year ending in June, the Friends were able to pay over to the Trustees a total of £28,000. 

The Friends have had a reasonable year of fund-raising, but the operating costs of the aircraft do not diminish, especially when there are a number of call-outs in a relatively short period of time, as happened in September.  The job of raising money certainly does not get any easier, particularly with so many local charities looking for financial support in the current economic climate, but, as always, I am heartened by people’s obvious affection and support for Channel Islands Air Search. 

Finally, as always, I would like to 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 for their support.  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 continued support. 

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