A year ago today, on Thursday 4th November 2010 we held the first of our two part recruitment sessions for our November 2010 potential trainee members intake.

We had reopened our online request for new members on 12th September 2010, with seven articles appearing in the daily Bolton News and other articles in weekly circulation local newspapers, all asking for volunteers to join us.

In total 44 people, aged from 18 through to 63, from a very varied range of occupations, applied either online, by email, by post or by telephone, to express an interest to join the team. Of the forty four, 21 confirmed they would be attending the Thursday evening and the following Sunday’s full day session.

As it turned out, seventeen people from the original forty four turned up at our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ to find out a bit more (Webmaster; well actually a lot more!) about the Bolton MRT.

By the Sunday 7th November 2010 all day session, the seventeen had become an expected sixteen, with fifteen actually turning up.

All fifteen were invited to join the team as Probationary Team Members, which they did.

By the time their Probationary period was over, a few more had left as the commitment and dedication required to be a team member began to be fully realised.

By summer this year, we had ten Trainee Team Members (As they were now termed) in training as part of their year long ’Basic training period’ with the team.
Today we are extremely happy to welcome the following ten Trainee Team Members into the team membership as ’Full Team Call Out Members.’

• Carly Raines, aged 23 of Hindley Green.
• Paul Chisholm, aged 33 of Astley, who works in Security Services, and has previous membership of the Bolton MRT.
• David Cook, aged 40, of Bolton, A chief Design Engineer.
• David Crawford, aged 61, of Bolton, a Psychologist.
• Kris Kilshaw, aged 19, of Heaton, a Student Arborist (and is now our youngest team member)
• Anthony Dawson, aged 55,of Bromley Cross, A Branch Manager.
• John (Melvyn) Dickinson, aged 64, of Edgworth, Retired (former Air Traffic Control Engineer)
• Paul Copley, aged 51, of Bolton, A BT Broadband Diagnostics Engineer.
• Naomi Horan, aged 24, of Horwich, an Intensive Care Nurse.
• Philip Crook, aged 40, of Clifton, Swinton, an Electrician.

Over the last year since they all joined, all the above have brought total dedication and full commitment to the team, alongside their outdoor interests and experiences.

Congratulations to all on becoming ’Full Team Call Out List Members,’ and here’s to many years service with the Bolton MRT.