With the opening of our team once more to operational membership recruitment, as a result of our having a limited number of current vacancies, we published a website ‘News’ item on Tuesday 9th September 2014.
We subsequently received fourteen positive applications, all of whom were sent an email reply, inviting them to our three recruitment intake sessions in October.
Nine of the fourteen applicants went on to confirm their attendance on our Thursday evening 23rd, all day Sunday 26th and Wednesday evening 29th October recruitment sessions, by returning their booking form and registration fee.
This evening eight of the nine actually attended our first session of three for our 2014 recruitment intake, commencing at 18.50hrs at our Ladybridge hall Base / HQ.
The eight included a Structural Engineer, an Accident and Emergency Nurse, a Trainee Teacher, a retired college lecturer, an Accident and Emergency Doctor, a Facilities Manager, an Operations Manager and an NWAS Clinical Advisor, with ages ranging from 27 to 54.
Amongst these eight was Team Support Group member Steve James, who now wishes to transfer from our Support Group membership to our operational Call Out list membership.
All are of course experienced hill walkers, with some having additional outdoor experience such as Mountaineering abroad, trekking, and 1/2 marathon running.
Twelve team operational Call Out list members were on hand to greet and meet them this evening, plus Support Group member and our Team Secretary Gillian Gregory.
Gillian had kindly prepared a welcome buffet at the start of their evening, which was followed by an introductory session by our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE, who also introduced his twelve colleagues present tonight.
All eight were then presented with a very comprehensive information folder on the Bolton MRT.
Two DVDs on the role of mountain rescue within the UKSAR framework were shown, followed by a basic navigation written test – easy but not that easy for some tonight!
Team member since the late 1980s Diane Blakeley was next, giving an excellent overview powerpoint presentation on the work and the role of the team past and present.
Then it was our Equipment Officer – Water, David Cook, who demonstrated the personal kit we are provided with by the team and what items we as MRT members carry in our rucksacs.
It was then downstairs in to our garage for a relatively quick overview of all the search and rescue equipment we carry on each of our four Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulance Response vehicles.
With time pressing on, it was back upstairs to our lecture room, for a presentation by our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE and our Training Officer Alistair Greenough, on our membership requirements, and yet more facts, anecdotes and details about the role of Bolton MRT.
A briefing about the full ‘hill day’ due to take place on Sunday 26th October, and a question and answer session rounded off this evening for the three women and five men all interested in joining the Bolton MRT who kindly gave up their time to attend tonight and find out more about us.
All the team members present tonight are now looking forward to making the acquaintance of the eight once again this Sunday.
Alongside the team members mentioned above, the following operational members were also present ; Kris Kilshaw, Phil Crook, Chris Tennant, Equipment Officer – Medical Nigel Booth, Equipment Officer – IT and Communications Steve Fletcher, Webmaster and all things IT Paul Brain, and Equipment Officer – Base and catering Paul Copley.
We will be carrying out a series of mountain rescue mini exercises with the eight on Sunday 26th October, in the Hordern Stoops, Wards Reservoir (Blue Lagoon) areas and Anglezarke Quarry, do look out for us and wish the eight all best wishes on their aspirations to join the team.
