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Published:
May
14, 2012
Council chief visits Burnham rescue hovercraft charity's AGM
 The
Chief Executive of North Somerset Council was the special guest
at the AGM of Burnham-On-Sea's rescue hovercraft charity BARB
on Friday evening (May 11th).
Graham
Turner joined 40 people at Burnham's Town Council Chambers in
Jaycroft Road to hear about a busy year for the life-saving charity.
Mr
Turner told the audience he is a "strong supporter"
of Burnham's marine rescue services and was honoured to be invited,
adding that he hoped the visit would "create even stronger
links between Burnham and North Somerset."
He
was given a tour of the seafront hovercraft station by BARB's
volunteer crew and also visited Burnham Coastguards, the RNLI
and Burnham's community-run tourist information centre.
During
the AGM, BARB's Chairman Mark Newman confirmed that a new hovercraft
to replace the Light Of Elizabeth - which has been heavily used
for five years as a training and rescue craft - is to be launched
this year.
He
thanked BARB's many fundraisers and supporters for their "hugely
appreciated support" who help the charity meet its £30,000
annual running costs. Among
those highlighted were Brean's Diamond Farm Holiday Park, Burnham's
Trinity Close Christmas Lights Team, Somerset Motorcycle Group,
the Town Council and Burnham Moose Lodge.
 He
and Operations Manager Mike Lowe praised BARB's volunteer crew
for their tremendous team spirit over the past year.
Certificates
were presented during to some of the charity's fundraisers and
crew by BARB President Neville Jones and Mr Turner.
They
included Brian and Ann Nicholls, who have been long-running supporters
of BARB, plus Diamond Farm Holiday Park, BIARS (which raised £1,200
for BARB), Mrs GM Newton for her fundraising, Burnham Moose Lodge,
crewmember Pete Francois, and local firms Baytree Upholstery,
The Woodpile and Ian James Caravans for their help with recent
improvements to the BARB station.
The
annual telescope award, given to the BARB crewmember who contributed
most to the welfare of the organisation over the past year, was
presented to Mike Lowe, who leads the day-to-day operations of
the station.
During
the election of officers, those re-appointed were Chairman Mark
Newman, Vice Chairman David Bailey, Operations Manager Mike Lowe,
BARB Treasurer Mike Ross and BARB Secretary Roger Flower. A new
Deputy Operations Manager, Graham Hallsworth, was selected.
Burnham's
Deputy Mayor Martin Cox was also in attendance, representing the
town council.
Mr
Turner presenting Brian and Ann Nicholls with a certificate for
their long-running support of BARB
BARB
President Neville Jones with Graham Turner, Operations Manager
Mike Lowe and Deputy Operations Manager Graham Hallsworth in front
of The Spirit Of Lelaina
Volunteer
crewmember Pete Francois receiving a certificate (Pics: Mike Lang)
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