The sixth meeting of the season took place on Tuesday 11 February 2025 at the Panmure Arms Hotel, Edzell. Our February meeting is always a partners and friends meeting and we had a good turnout of Inner Wheel Members, their partners and friends, with a smattering of local Rotarians for good measure. The Club members were delighted to have speakers from the RNLI and our President warmly welcomed Bec Allan and Bill Deans who have both been involved with the RNLI for many years. Bec started volunteering for the RNLI in 1987 and became Fund Raising Secretary in 1988. In 1999 she was invited by Aberdeen Lifeboat Station to be their Appeal Assistant to raise funds for the current All-Weather Aberdeen Lifeboat. Following successful completion of that appeal, Bec became Volunteer Fundraising Secretary at Aberdeen and then Volunteer Lifeboat Administration Officer. Bec was honoured with a BEM last year for services to the RNLI.
Bill joined the Aberdeen Lifeboat Crew in 1976 and served on both the inshore and All-Weather Lifeboats, becoming Second Coxswain in 1994. Following retirement from the Police Service, Bill was appointed as Assessor/ Trainer for the RNLI within the Operations Department. He was also Volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager for Aberdeen Lifeboat Station from 2015- 2021 and is currently serving as a Launch Authority. He was awarded an MBE for Services to Saving Lives at Sea in 2018 and is a member of the RNLI’s Scottish Council.
Bill explained how the RNLI was established in 1824 by Sir William Hillary with one aim – to Save Lives at Sea. Montrose is the oldest Lifeboat Station, Aberdeen the second oldest and Arbroath the third. Fundraising is in progress for a new state of the art station to be opened in Stonehaven in September 2025. Bec and Bill gave an informative presentation showing the work of the RNLI locally and nationally, with some impressive footage of their work during Storm Frank in Ballater. Members were also given tips should they be unfortunate enough to run into difficulties while in the water. After answering a plethora of questions posed by our members, our President gave the vote of thanks.
The RNLI receives no government funding and is totally dependent on donations and legacies to carry out its work. Most of the crew are volunteers. It is a charity much loved by Inner Wheel Clubs – in previous years, two lifeboats have been funded by donations from Inner Wheel Clubs. Recently, our President hosted a soup and sandwich lunch to raise funds for the RNLI and the proceeds from that lunch will be presented to RNLI members at our May meeting.
As always, new members will be warmly welcomed and if you feel you would be interested in joining our Club, please contact us on innerwheeldistrict1@outlook.com
We are also always looking for people to knit squares or sew knitted squares into blankets for those less fortunate. Our International Service Organiser does a sterling job supplying wool, distributing squares to be sewn into blankets, collecting stamps and ring pulls. She is also very keen to support ‘Smalls for All’ and information can be found at smallsforall.org – if you feel you can help with any of the above, please contact us at the above email address.
On Saturday 1st March, we will be holding our annual Bazaar in the Masonic Hall, Laurencekirk, 10 am – 11.30 am. We look forward to welcoming you for a coffee and ‘fancy piece’.
Denise Donald
Club Correspondent
