This evening saw the team holding its 41st Anniversary Year Annual Team Dinner, with a return to the excellent venue of the Ramada Hotel, Blackrod, Bolton.
Organised very capably by team member Gillian Leigh, (with help from her husband, ex team member and former Deputy Team Leader Ian), the evening’s meal and after dinner entertainment attracted 65 guests. Those attending included many of our Call Out list and Support Group members along with their partners, ex team members, parents of team members and team supporters. Amongst our guests was Carl Silver who contributes many pictures to our website and for use within the teams many publicity handouts.

Following the excellent meal, our Chairman Ken Oakes welcomed all to the evening and gave a short speech of thanks to our Team President Bob Hutchinson and Honorary Life Vice President Tony McNally regarding their help and assistance over the previous year.

Our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE, then commenced proceedings with our annual formal awards. The Stanley Award for the Most Promising New Team Member was presented to Gillian Leigh, who rejoined the team last year after a fifteen year absence, for her enthusiasm, dedication and commitment to the team and her ready willingness to help out at whatever task is asked of her.

The Howard Hill Memorial Tankard Award for the Person or Persons Making the Greatest Contribution to the Team over the past year, was awarded to Support Group member Johanne Lamb, for her excellent work as Team Treasurer over the last year, managing our financial affairs, dealing with the closure of the teams long running but increasingly difficult to administrate 250 club, and being instrumental in reviewing the teams membership and pager donations.

Team reserve Call Out list member, current President and former Team Leader Bob Hutchinson, from Bury, and Team Call Out list members Mark Parry, also from Bury and Gillian Leigh from Bolton, were all presented by our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE, with framed certificates from our regional body, the Mid Pennine Search and Rescue Organisation (MPSRO) in recognition of respectively 30 years and 10 years (In Mark and Gillian’s case) continuous service operationally with Bolton MRT.

The informal awards part of the night commenced with our Team Leader Garry making a humorous report on the team’s activities over the year, entitled “This was the year that…”

Garry then presented his usual informal awards, his version of ’Gotcha’s’, with 11 individual awards, all hand made by Garry, recognising all of those things the lucky, well unlucky, recipients would rather fellow team members had forgotten.

During this part of the evening the tables were turned on Garry, when at the end of his presentation, Team Vice President for Life Tony McNally reminded all present of a little something that had once happened to Garry many years back in the team. Photographic evidence of such was then offered, with Garry having the choice of donating £20.00 to the team to keep the photographs under wraps, or allowing Tony to publish and be dammed ! Well needless to say with his reputation to maintain Garry gladly offered up the £20.00 and was handed the photographs.

Of course matters didn’t end there as the photographs which Garry thought were now securely in his care were promptly spirited away from him by team members who shall remain anonymous ! (So perhaps Garry is still at risk of making further donations to the team. – webmaster, in any other organisation this would be described as blackmail ! )

As is usual, a competition was held to guess the length of time our Team Leader would keep us enthralled with his amusing tales and awards of the team member’s endeavors over the previous year. Guests contribute £1 each to guess the time, with 50% of the money raised going to the team, and 50% to the winner. The winning time that was closest to Garry’s speech time of 1 hour 8 minutes and 49 seconds, was jointly made by former team members Geoff Yates and Ian Leigh, Geoff Yates kindly donated his winnings back to the team. In total Garry’s speeches raised the great sum of £48.75 directly for the team. (Inclusive of Geoff’s donation)

With determined raffle ticket sales headed up by our sales team of new team members Heather Jackson and Helen Rigby, helped by the raffle ticket folders Diane Blakeley, Judith Waltho and Gillian Leigh, and with an amazing 50 superb raffle prizes, (including a very kind donation of an evening at the Ramada Hotel by the Ramada hotel itself) the raffle raised £246.00 on the evening. The announcement of this fantastic amount was immediately followed by guests Danny and Joan Blundell (The parents of Team Call Out list member Alison Yates, also present tonight) making a £15.00 donation. So all in all the raffle amount of £246.00 combined with Garrys’ speech total of £48.75, Garrys’ ’donation’ of £20.00 and Danny and Joans’ £15.00 donation, meant tonight’s dinner resulted in a fantastic £329.75 being raised for the team.

The Dinner and Awards evening ended up very late on, with many hangovers in the making and more than one two many beers, wines and spirits drunk.

Thanks are expressed to Rossendale and Pendle MRT for providing cover for our team area over Friday night and into Saturday morning, allowing us all to have ’one night off’ and indulge a ’little bit.’

Next year’s Team Dinner, is provisionally planned for Friday 20th May 2011.