Life saving club mark year of achievements

The event was well attended by their members and we were very pleased to welcome the CEO of the Royal Life Saving Society UK, Di Steer and the Chair of Horsham District Council, Cllr. Tricia Youtan.

The evening consisted of presenting those awards which had been achieved during the year but also, recognising the activities the club has carried out in 2015.

Cllr Tricia Youtan presented some of the 148 Survive & Save Awards which had been achieved by our members at either The Pavilions in the Park, Southwater Lake or Lancing Beach.

Di Steer presented 7 Distinction Awards which is the highest award offered by the RLSS UK to 7 of our members: David Slade, Robin Akers, Natasha Mays, Kathryn Otley, Ed Baker, Elish Edwards and Nina Burke.

Our instructors who are on hand during the year to teach and assess these 148 awards were also recognised for their service, which was a total of 456 hours of voluntary teaching across the three different venues. James Cossons gave a presentation on the outreach work the club undertakes which has reached 15,000 people across the Horsham area. He also presented certificates to three members who had achieved 100 hours of volunteering these were, Natasha Mays, Ed Baker and Megan Holms.

The results from the internal competition which tests member’s skills, speed and response to incidents were also announced.

Those who had performed the best were presented with medals and trophies. The overall champion was Ciaran Fitzgerald who received 384 points and from the Novice’s Category it was Sophie Lee with 333 points.

Di Steer also presented five members with RLSS UK National Honours which were received at a special ceremony at the Guildhall in London during October.

These members were James Cossons who received the Young Lifesaver of the Year award, Robin Akers, Alex Mays, Ciaran Fitzgerald and James Cossons received a Certificate of Thanks and Emily Heather, Jon Borley, James Cossons and Lee Wright received a Certificate of Merit. Caroline Wright received a Friends of the Society Award.

This year the club’s Endeavour Cup was given to Jenny Fletcher for her achievements during 2015. Voting on the night for Club Member of the Year proved in favour of Natasha Mays.

Di Steer commented: “If every Life Saving Club across the Country was like Horsham Life Saving Club then my job would be done. It’s fantastic to see both the achievement in terms of Survive & Save awards but also in terms of the Outreach in to the Community.”

The club is hoping to run four free Save a Baby’s Life courses which teaches parents, grandparents or anyone looking after a Baby what to do if the Baby stops breathing.

To find out more information about Horsham Life Saving Club and their work please visit www.horshamlifesavingclub.co.uk or search for them on Facebook and Twitter.

Report and picture contributed by Horsham Life Saving Club.