STATION 20 SHELLY BEACH: AWARDS EVENING

Station 20 held its annual year-end function and awards evening last week. This year the evening was split into two separate events. The first event was held at the Shelly Beach ski-boat club on Saturday 15 November and was a fun evening with a Hawaiian theme. The second was held at the rescue base and was more formal with the crew in step-outs.KZN Regional Director and Operations Board chairperson, Eddie Noyons, and Station Commander, Pieter Coetzee, made the following awards:Coxswain of the Year – Pieter CoetzeeSenior Crew Member – Barry MollettMost Dedicated Crew Member – Cathy RoltStation Commander’s Floating Trophy – Willem van WykSeven trainees qualified as Crew. They were Adriaan Duvenhage, Ruahn Beattie, Morne Beattie, Pieter Venter, Reeve Frost, Dominique Steyn and Wendy Duvenhage.Five-year Service Awards were presented to Justin Watson, Kyle Robertson and Britt Matthews. Audrey de Jager was presented with her 10-year Service award.“We have had a good year with one of the highlights being the arrival on station of our new rescue vessel, Spirit of Dawn. I would like to very sincerely thank the crew and their families who have put in the hard yards for the station this year”, Station Commander Pieter Coetzee said.“We were blessed with no injuries to our crew and very little damage to the base and equipment despite hard training and some challenging rescues”, he added.“We also tend at times to forget the support we receive from our Regional Director, Eddie Noyons, and from the staff at Head Office in Cape Town. Thank you”, he also said.Deputy Station Commander, Jerry Jackson, commented that the station’s relationship with its stakeholders had improved dramatically over the past year.“We now need to build on this good foundation and develop it further so we can render an even better service to the community we serve on this part of the coast”, he added. Newly qualified crew. (Back, left to right) Station Commander Pieter Coetzee, Wendy Duvenhage, Dominique Steyn, Deputy Station Commander, Jerry Jackson, and Morne Beattie (Front, left to right) Reeve Frost, Pieter Venter, Ruahn Beattie and Adriaan Duvenhage Crew Awards. (back,left to right) Barry Mollett, Senior Crew Person of the Year, John Rolt, Letter of Appreciation, Pieter Coetzee, Coxswain of the Year, Kyle Robertson, Five-year Service Award, and Willem van Wyk, Station Commander’s Floating Trophy. (Front) Cathy Rolt, Most Dedicated Crew Person of the Year and Jerry Jackson, Deputy Station Commander