In this issue. The Official Magazine of the Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance. l Volunteers Day 2013 l Santa Fun Run

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1 Summer/Winter 2013 In this issue l Supporters Day 2013 l Night Flying Operations l Thank You Gallery l Volunteers Day 2013 l Santa Fun Run The Official Magazine of the Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance

2 Finally, as we are now commencing with our night-flying operations, I have asked our Pilots and paramedics to give us all an update on what this means to the charity and more specifically to our aircrew. I am sure that you will find this of considerable interest. I hope that 2013 has been a good year for you all and that you will continue with your support for the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance. I wish all our supporters a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year 2014 and I hope to see many of you again next year. Dear Supporters Kind regards Peter Aldrick Chief Executive Welcome to the combined Summer/Winter 2013 edition of your magazine Skyshout. If you recall, I apologised for the rather late issue of the last magazine (Winter 2012), which was only sent out to you all early this year. Unfortunately, the workload pressures that we experienced late in 2012 have continued throughout 2013 and I found myself running out of time to produce the Summer 2013 issue. I therefore decided to combine, on this one occasion, the Summer and Winter issues into one bumper bundle with several extra pages! I do hope that you can understand the problems we have had this year and some of the activities that we have all been so busy with are covered in the contents of the magazine for your information. In this issue we review the SAS Supporters Day which was held at Newark Showground on Sunday 19th May and our Volunteers Day held at Waddington Village Hall on Sunday 6th October. Both events were well attended and greatly enjoyed by everyone who was present. The charity has had some recent staff changes and I have taken the opportunity to outline this and to introduce the new staff members to you all in this issue. We have been busy improving the visual branding of the charity during the year, with the introduction of new event trailers and new vans in updated livery, all very generously donated to us by our friends the Nottinghamshire Farmers Countryside Appeal. Contributions to Skyshout We welcome contributions to Skyshout from all our supporters, although we obviously have to control what is published in our magazine. If you have stories and photographs that you think are of interest please send them, preferably via (p.aldrick@ambucopter.org.uk) and we will see whether we can include them in a future issue. Please note that we cannot accept photographs that are grossly over/under-exposed, are out of focus, or printed on poor quality non-photo paper. These are very difficult to reproduce with any accuracy in a magazine where we try to have a high standard of image quality. Thank you. Front cover image: Staff and Aircrew with the helicopter at the 2013 Supporters Club Day. (photo courtesy of Paul Banton). I have included a much expanded section for the ever popular Thank You Gallery in which we record our thanks to the numerous folk and organisations that have raised money for the charity in recent months. Our sincere thanks go to them all. As you are aware, we are active members of the Association of Air Ambulances which has been raising the profile of all U.K. Air Ambulances in recent months and I have included details of some of their activities as I am aware that you may well see some mention of this in the national media. 2

3 Staff Changes at the Charity Amy Dickinson, our new Notts Office Volunteer Co-ordinator. Since the last issue of Skyshout there have been several major changes in staff at the charity offices. At the Nottingham off ice, Andrew Bennett and Lynn Jones have both left the charity. A new Handyman/Technician, Lucas Spencer, has been recruited to replace Andrew. Karen Carter has returned to the charity after several years at the RSPCA, and took up the role of Administration Assistant initially, but has now been promoted to Community Fundraiser. A new Volunteer Co-ordinator, Amy Dickinson, and a replacement Administration Assistant, Lizzie Wilson, have just recently been appointed to the Notts office. More information on these new appointments will be provided in the next issue of Skyshout. At the Lincoln office, Sally Crawford, has been appointed as Assistant CEO/Business Manager, to provide additional support to the CEO with his steadily increasing workload. Sally has worked at Lincoln Cathedral, as Fund Development Manager and previously as Fundraising Officer, for the past seven years. Prior to that she held various roles within the RAF and, whilst also bringing up her family, continued with some charitable activities. She lives locally in Lincoln and has already made a significant contribution to the charity since she joined us at the beginning of March Lizzie Wilson, Notts Office Administration Assistant. Our new Assistant CEO/Business Manager, Sally Crawford. Our previous Finance Managers, Graham Dawson and Crauford Thomson, have both left the charity and have now been replaced by a full-time Finance Manager, Ken Garner. Ken and his family live in North Hykeham and in recent years he has been employed in a number of financial roles within Duncan and Toplis, PKF, Dexter & Sharpe, Wise Software, and most recently Boss Cabins. Ken is a fully qualified member of the ACCA and will bring his wide expertise in a range of financial topics to the benefit of the charity. Our new Finance Manager, Ken Garner. Also, at the Lincoln Head Office, we have welcomed Faye Nam, as Community Fundraiser. Faye lives locally in Lincoln and has previous charity experience since 2006 with the Lincolnshire Co-operative Society, who of course have long been supporters of our own charity. We wish all of our staff members every success in their new roles. Faye Nam, our new Lincs Office Community Fundraiser. 3

4 Supporters Day 2013 On Sunday 19th May over 450 supporters, volunteers, staff and friends attended the annual Special Ambucopter Supporters (SAS) Club Summer Social in the Cedric Ford Pavilion at the Newark Showground. The afternoon commenced with an excellent lunch at during which entertainment was provided by Johnny Marks, an internationally renowned country music star and a long-standing supporter of our charity. Peter Aldrick, our CEO then gave a brief update on the performance of the charity since the last SAS Day in The 2012/2013 financial year had turned out to be the best year ever recorded by the charity in terms of monies raised and he praised the efforts of everyone who had helped to achieve this phenomenal performance at a time of some economic uncertainty. All areas of the charity had performed well our shops, lottery, and general donations had all made increased contributions to funds. As well as the growth in Lottery membership, Peter also commented on the additional benefit from the Cash Prize Draw held at the end of The charity shop expansion programme was proceeding apace and a new shop in Trent Bridge, Nottingham was about to be officially opened. Another major factor contributing to the increase in income was the steady growth of legacy income that the charity was now receiving year by year. Missions for the Air Ambulance helicopter continued at a fairly steady rate, but much work had been done on the training of Ambulance Service Emergency Control despatchers to ensure that there were fewer aborted missions for the helicopter, and thereby better utilisation of the funds so generously donated to the charity. A significant focus for the operational side of the business during the past year had been on the move to night-flying, which would be commencing later in the year. There was also much work to be done to equip local hospitals with the necessary lit helipads to enable patients to be flown into them after dark. Peter thanked everyone present for their own contribution to helping to make the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance such a successful charity. The entertainment then continued with the Belvoir Academy playing a range of music from jazz, blues, pop and rock, which soon had guests on the dance floor! During a short break attendees were able to see the helicopter and meet the crew, try their luck on the various tombolas and raffles that were taking place and to buy some of the excellent charity merchandise. Chief Executive, Peter Aldrick, addresses the meeting. Sales of charity merchandise going well. Our guests visit the helicopter during the break. The Belvoir Academy entertain. Is this the winning ticket? 4

5 At 3.00 pm Johnny Marks returned for a most welcome second session of country music that greatly entertained everyone present. The afternoon then closed with a final session from the Belvoir Academy as well as afternoon tea, and everyone went home smiling - once they had been persuaded to leave the dance floor! This was another most successful Supporters Club Day so please do not miss out in 2014! Put the date of Sunday 8th June 2014 in your diaries and make sure that you book early! We all look forward to seeing your there! (All photographs courtesy of Paul Banton). A chat over lunch! Brisk business at the tombola stands. Paramedic Jane Pattison shows visitors around the helicopter. Johnny Marks entertains our guests. Lunch is served. Our guests assemble at the Cedric Ford Pavilion. Guests dance away the afternoon to music from the Belvoir Academy. 5

6 Night Flying Operations The charity has for some time considered that the next logical step for the operational side of our activities would be to extend the hours of operation into the night-time period. Such activities for Air Ambulances were, however, not permitted until the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) published its safety guidelines for such activities in October Subsequent to that, we carried out further work on our helicopter (which you may recall was already well equipped for night flying capability when delivered to us in November 2010) and extensive training of our aircrew and pilots. Our own operations then had to be given full CAA approval for night-flying operations after extensive testing and checks of all personnel and equipment. We now have this approval and can commence night-flying. Unlike some other Air Ambulance operators, the charity has decided that we will not be moving to 24/7 operations as this could prove to be prohibitively expensive. The decision has been taken to roll out the night operations programme on a gradual basis by continuing on the usual 12-hour rota throughout the winter months, rather than to drop back to 8-hour shifts as in previous years. Careful monitoring of additional patients airlifted and also of other incidents, that might have needed Air Ambulance assistance after operations had stopped for the day, will enable our Board to make an informed decision during 2014 as to any further expansion of operating hours. We believe that it is important to gain experience of the new operational system and to absolutely ensure the safety of crew and patients alike, before expanding further. It is an exciting time for the charity as we move into this new area of activity and in the following article our aircrew give you a flavour of what it has meant to them in recent months: Into the Darkness Flying around in the day on air ambulance duties is something that all the crew on Helimed 29 enjoy. It can be a demanding role, but, like most skills, it becomes less difficult with experience. Traditionally, come sunset and twilight, the air ambulance cannot fly. This is because of the varied nature of landing sites; in daylight the hazards that we look out for are easier to spot. Wires, pylons, telegraph poles, trees, anemometers and even livestock are just some factors considered by the crew prior to landing at the site of an incident, as well as at some other landing sites, like hospitals. At night these hazards are nigh on impossible to spot with the naked eye and, up until recent changes in aviation rules, there was no scope for air ambulances to operate at night at all, but now, with appropriate aids, it is. Some other air ambulance units have started down the night flying path using two pilots trained in using night vision goggles (NVGs), but the person in the front left-hand seat doesn t have to be a pilot. The paramedics have skills as aircrew and there is provision in our flight manual for a technical crewmember to be front left with NVGs. 6

7 With support from Medical Aviation Services (MAS) we have embarked on, and now completed, training in night-flying skills and usage of NVGs. With all the equipment, knowledge and the start of night-flying experience, we re now ready to help people in our patch in daylight, or at night time. Unit Operations Managers Roger Linnell and Neil Clarke are circumspect about the new abilities. Neil says Flying at night brings something that we ve never been able to give before, which is fantastic, but it s a daunting prospect. At least twice a week we ll be flying for training purposes to maintain all the crew s currencies and reinforce the team work routines we re currently establishing. Roger adds that Given our extra skills and the fact we can respond more during hours of darkness we ll be able to help more people and that s what it s all about. We re using different skills and we re going to need the support of the public from Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, as well as the charity s staff and volunteers to keep us flying. Flying at night is a completely different ball game to flying during the day. Paul Smith and Tim Taylor, the unit s pilots, both have previous experience of NVGs from flying in other areas, both civilian and military. Tim said It s amazing what you can see with NVGs, but as they don t give any depth perception and no peripheral vision, utilising them to their full extent takes hard work. Chief Pilot Paul agrees. Our team work in the aircraft is very good, but we have to take it up a gear and really work hard to increase our focus at night. Paramedic John McKenzie has enjoyed the training and says It s like learning how to do this job all over again in the dark. We came back from our check flights with headaches from the concentration involved, but it s mind-blowing what the NVGs can do and can add to our job. Jane Pattison also thoroughly enjoyed her training, finding it incredible how much the NVGs allow the wearer to see, but also how much the sets weigh, laughing it s like a couple of bags of flour on your helmet! There s no doubt that flying in the dark with NVGs is a different discipline entirely to standard, daytime air ambulance flying and brings with it increased risks, but there s no reason why Lincs and Notts can t bring their extended skills to night time flying if the risks are managed. The crew are united and determined to fly at night safely and effectively. To sum up all the crew s feelings one only has to ask Richard Irwin how he feels about flying at night, with his trademark big grin he declares: Exciting! Captain Tim Taylor and the NVG equipment. Pilot Captain Tim Taylor wearing the night visioning goggles (NVG) in the helicopter cockpit. Chief Pilot Captain Paul Smith. The helicopter lands on the helipad at Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital during a night mission. 7

8 LAMMA 2013 The Lincolnshire Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing Association (LAMMA) has held an Annual Show at the Newark Showground in January every year. During January 2013 the 32nd Annual Show once again took place from 16th to 17th January and the LAMMA organisers very kindly agreed that charity staff and volunteers could man the gates throughout the two days to collect money for the Air Ambulance. Under the overall co-ordination of our Nottinghamshire Fundraiser, Jim Vickrage, ably assisted by our two Volunteer Co-ordinators, a veritable army of staff and volunteers was assembled and a rota system introduced to ensure that no one suffered from hypothermia by too long an exposure to the elements. The weather was actually extremely cold, and snowy, but this in no way deterred the many thousands of visitors who turned up to inspect the latest developments and innovations in agricultural equipment. Over the course of the two days the magnificent sum of 13, was raised from bucket collections at the several gates to the Showground. Our thanks go to everyone who braved the cold to assist us in achieving such a great result. Whilst at the show the RBS sponsored 6 Nations Rugby Union Challenge Cup was on display and a number of charity staff, Tractors in the snow at LAMMA. Douglas and Doris Duck with the Rugby Trophy. including Douglas and Doris Duck, managed to get their hands on the trophy, even if only briefly. Chattertons Solicitors had been raising money for the charity during 2012 and at the LAMMA Show, Lincolnshire Fundraiser, Emma Young, was presented with a cheque for 4,300 by Chattertons Partner, Katherine Bunting. Katherine said The Air Ambulance is a service we all hope we will never need, but it is great to know it is there for everyone in our area should the worst happen. I have been very pleased and proud of the wonderful support given to Chattertons fund raising for the Air Ambulance from staff at all our offices. The money was raised from a number of events including an Emma Young (right) receives the cheque from Katherine Bunting of Chattertons Solicitors. inter-office bake-athon, a tombola at Horncastle market, a shopping indulgence evening at the Grantham office, and raffled Christmas hampers. Sadly in 2014 the LAMMA Show is to move to the East of England Showground, however, arrangements are already being put in place to enable our charity to assist once again alongside our colleagues from East Anglian Air Ambulance. The Helicopter at LAMMA

9 Charity Shop Update All charity shops are making a very positive contribution to the excellent financial results for the current 2013/2014 year. Since the last issue of Skyshout, we have only opened one new shop, at Trent Bridge, in Nottingham. This was a brand new facility and we took the opportunity to set the shop up with the new charity branding. As you can see from the pictures this looks very smart and we will be gradually rolling out this new branding across the whole range of shops as costs allow. We have just recently purchased a new facility in Mansfield Woodhouse that will be used for furniture storage and distribution as well as a future charity shop. The property requires some extensive renovation work before we can commence usage of the building. More information on this and our other shops will be provided in the next issue of Skyshout. Our shop in Market Rasen is legendary in the world of charity shops, as is our manager there, Margaret Lakin-Whitworth. Recently, as part of her on-going series of television programmes, Mary Portas, visited Market Rasen for further filming. As she was in the local area she took time out to visit the Air Ambulance charity shop and to meet Margaret. Since Mary s visit Margaret has been christened Queen of Shops as well! Mary was apparently impressed by our shop, but it is understood that she did not actually make any purchases on the day (most unusual for Margaret to miss out on a sale!). Finally, we have to sadly record the death of three of our Lincolnshire shop volunteers in recent months. Ruth Howden, from our Ashby shop, died in May 2013 and then Shirley Powell, from our Grimsby shop, and Ann Gaddas, from our North Hykeham shop, both died in June We give our thanks for their service to the charity and our condolences go to their families and friends. Mary Portas with Margaret Queen of Shops Lakin-Whitworth. The new Trent Bridge, Nottingham shop. The new Trent Bridge, Nottingham shop. Mary Portas visiting the Market Rasen charity shop. 9

10 Staff and friends of the 2 Wheel Centre at Mansfield organised a ride out to Gainsborough involving around 120 bikes. They raised over 1,500 from this event. Volunteer Barry Daff is pictured receiving a cheque for 10,000 from the BRM Day held in Bourne in July Charlie Lester s partner, Tony Hoare, was airlifted by the helicopter in August 2012 after a serious motorcycle accident at Cadwell Park. She undertook a 2 day sponsored motorbike ride to Berlin from the base at RAF Waddington. Charlie and Tony are hoping to raise around 4,000 for the charity throughout Volunteer Gill Andrew (right) from our Ashby, Lincs. charity shop is pictured receiving a cheque for 210 from Mrs Marleen Gray following her 80th Birthday celebrations. Tata Steel from Scunthorpe donated 1,000 to LNAACT as the factory had been accident free for over 180 days. Paramedic Richard Irwin is pictured receiving their cheque from Mick Campbell, Lui Poma, Andy Raithby and Paul Lawson. Our BBC friend Sara Blizzard is pictured receiving a cheque for 2,000 on behalf of the charity at the Buckminster Gliding Club s 1940 s swing band charity evening. 10

11 Paramedic Richard Irwin (centre) is pictured outside our hangar at RAF Waddington with Simon Ranshaw (left) and Darren Smart (right) from Witham Oil and Paint. The company very kindly allowed the charity to have space once again on their stand at the 2013 Lincolnshire Show and held a competition to win a television with all proceeds going to the Air Ambulance. Staff from Lincs FM visited our Lincoln office as part of their Lincs at Large programme, where they go to deserving businesses and hand out cakes, flowers etc. to staff and volunteers. Janet Arnold, Volunteer at our Bracebridge Heath shop, is pictured receiving the gifts. Staff from Grimsby-based company Ntex Ltd decided to organise a cycle ride from Immingham to Paris in aid of the Air Ambulance with an event named Immtex Blue. Despite some problems with sat navs, which added some 150 miles to the journey, they achieved their aim and are hoping to raise in excess of 5,000 for the charity through sponsorship. Lincolnshire Fundraiser, Emma Young, is pictured (left) receiving a Cheque for 250 from the Manager of Tesco s on Canwick Road, Lincoln. The Supermarket raised 500 which was split between our charity and St Barnabas Hospice. On 4th July 2013 the charity was presented with another generous donation from the Red Arrows Trust. Our Chairman Dr Ian Hindle is pictured receiving a cheque for 1,000 at RAF Scampton from Keith Harkness (Red Arrows Trustee) in the presence of the Red Arrows Team and our own staff and aircrew. Staff are pictured at Lark in the Park at West Bridgford (left to right Lucas Spencer, Cadi Lambert and Roger Linnell). This was the first official outing in Nottinghamshire for our new trailer, which was very well received by the public and particularly children at this event. Colin Wilkinson is given a cheque by Irene Shaw in lieu of tributes for her late mother, Mrs I Whittingham. Thank You Gallery 11

12 Mark Robertson and co-workers from Taylor Pearson in Woodhall Spa, Lincs. raised 2,287 for the charity by taking part in the South Downs Bike Ride in May Members of Oakmere Park Golf Club endured terrible weather to complete a 24hr Golfathon, but still managed to raise 4,000 for the charity. Volunteer John Turner is pictured receiving a cheque for 631 at the Country Weekend at Richmond Drive Caravan Park, Skegness on 28th September Brook House Farm Livery and Equestrian Training Centre, at Scamblesby in the heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds, held a fundraising event in aid of LIVES and LNAACT. Trustee Paul Croft (right) is pictured at the Centre and received a cheque for 125 on behalf of the charity. Some 1,750 has been raised for the two local charities over the past four years. Volunteer John Turner Receives a cheque for on 22nd April 2013 from supporters at Skegness Stadium. Phillips 66 made a donation on behalf of their IPC employees workgroup, for 80 days having been worked with no employee injuries. Their contractor AMEC also achieved the same record and both companies nominated us as their charity, resulting in a donation of 6,000. Volunteer Trevor Cherry is pictured receiving their cheque. From left to right the photograph shows Ken Parker and Jeff Greenway (AMEC), Lynn Hawthorne (P66 HSE Manager), Trevor Cherry, Dave Reid (P66 IPC) and Mark Riley (P66 Sponsor AMEC). 12

13 Service personnel from RAF Digby held a 48 hour Bike-athon in aid of LNAACT at this year s RAF Waddington Air Show. Volunteer Janet Deaton (left) receives a cheque for 2, from Lincolnshire Pet Crematorium from money raised from a Family Open Day on 21st July 2013 which included a fun dog show, a barbeque, stalls and displays. Ian Creasey (middle) donated 5,000 on behalf of the Rempstone Traction Engine Club as their outgoing Chairman. They are pictured at the airbase with a fabulous 1924 Bentley. Valerie Cresswell was airlifted last year when she broke her femur after a loose dog jumped up at her on Mablethorpe Beach. She visited the crew in March 2013 with flowers and chocolates to say a big thank you. Members of the Sherwood Chapter Harley-Davidson Owners Group are pictured being allowed to ride 3 laps around the legendary Donington Park Racetrack as part of their Rally and Fundraising weekend. The Chapter are in their 4th year of fundraising for the charity. The only person in the picture not wearing black is a terrified Jim Vickrage in his green Air Ambulance T-shirt! (Picture courtesy of Brian Tyler Photography). Volunteer Victor Parrock receives a cheque for 1,000 from Anne Gardiner, the Ladies Captain at Kenwick Park Golf Club. This money was raised for the charity at their Charity Golf Day held on 30 August Lincolnshire Fundraiser Emma Young (left) receives a cheque for at our Grimsby shop from Sam Atkin. This money was raised from the 2nd Great Limber Tractor Road Run organised by Sam and her partner, Andrew Kirman, and was held on Sunday 26th May 2013 when some 41 entrants participated. Thank You Gallery 13

14 Association of Air Ambulances Update As you are all aware, our charity is a member of the national Association of Air Ambulances (AAA). During the past twelve months the AAA has grown substantially in its role as the voice of the Air Ambulance world under the direction of its National Director, Clive Dickin. Our CEO, Peter Aldrick, was elected as one of three charity Directors of the AAA at their AGM held in late All member charities are now automatically bound by the AAA Code of Conduct, which will give donors confidence that their donations will be spent wisely and correctly for the charitable purposes outlined in the charity mission statements. This also means that we are all members of the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) and can use their logo on all our merchandise and website, etc. Emma Young and Jim Vickrage in Westminster Hall. The AAA has established an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Air Ambulances and the CEO, together with Jim Vickrage and Emma Young, were privileged to attend the inaugural meeting of this group at Westminster on 11th June Over 40 MPs have now signed up to belong to the APPG and they have taken up issues on behalf of the Air Ambulances relating to VAT on fuel and the provision of helipads at hospitals around the U.K. Having the ability to lobby the Government via an APPG on a national level will be of immense importance to us all in the future. Week commencing 21st September was nominated as National Air Ambulance Week (NAAW) and fundraising activities for all Air Ambulances took place throughout the country. As is our usual practice, we had street collections in Lincoln, Nottingham and other venues. The AAA organised a national media campaign with the strapline I support my local Air Ambulance do you? Many of you may have seen the broadcasts. Lincoln MP Karl McCartney is pictured (left) with Emma Young, Jim Vickrage and Peter Aldrick at the Westminster APPG meeting in June During that same week the AAA held a Member s Forum in conjunction with the Annual Emergency Services Show held at the NEC in Birmingham. For a photo-shoot linked to a feature on the Daybreak TV programme, many of the Air Ambulance mascots assembled at the NEC early on the morning of 26th September. Our own Douglas Duck was able to be present, thanks to personal support from Jim Vickrage! The 2013 AAA National Conference and Awards Dinner will take place in London on Monday 18th November and several members of our staff and aircrew will be attending this prestigious event. 14 Air Ambulance mascots assemble to celebrate National Air Ambulance Week at the NEC Birmingham (Note a rather disgruntled Douglas Duck on the left!).

15 Helitech 2013 Helitech is the International Helicopter Business Exhibition held every two years in the U.K. This in the past has taken place at RAF Duxford, near Cambridge, which is the site of part of the Imperial War Museum. For the first time, this year, it was decided to break with tradition and move this exhibition to London at the Excel Arena in the Thames Docklands area. We were asked by Medical Aviation Services (MAS) whether we were prepared to have our helicopter as part of the static display at the Excel arena. G-LNCT is the newest and best equipped of the fleet of MD-902 helicopters operating within the U.K. and as such is an ideal craft to with which to impress potential customers. This was agreed and for the duration of the exhibition MAS kindly loaned the charity a replacement craft for our usual emergency service. MAS report that there was a lot on interest in the helicopter during the exhibition. The helicopter static display at Helitech Our helicopter at the Excel Arena. Chairman, Dr Ian Hindle, presents Caroline Cropley with a farewell gift from the charity. Trustee Changes There have been several changes amongst the charity Board of Trustees. Caroline Cropley, from Chattertons Solicitors, left the Board to relocate to London after four years as a charity Trustee. At a presentation on 21st March our Chairman, Dr Ian Hindle, presented Caroline with an engraved vase as a souvenir of her time at the charity Board. Replacing her on the Board we have welcomed Jonty Pearson, from Chattertons in Horncastle. Paramedic Dave Hunter receives his farewell gifts from Unit Operations Managers Neil Clarke (left) and Roger Linnell (right). Chairman of the Finance Committee, John Cranston, has also moved to the North East and relinquished his role as a Trustee. He is replaced by Trevor Parkes, who is also trained as an accountant, and will take over as Chairman of the Finance Committee. Other recent appointments to the Board are Andy Dunn, the Deputy Director Ops (Operational Support Unit) at EMAS, and Gary Austin, a non-executive director of EMAS. Aircrew Changes At the start of April the charity said farewell to Dave Hunter, who has been a Paramedic on the aircrew for many years. Dave was presented with farewell gifts, including the now customary cartoon caricature, by charity staff and aircrew, to commemorate his long service with the unit. 15

16 At the Shows! Our New Trailers. Thanks to the continuing generous financial support from the group of Notts farmers who raise money for the charity through the Nottinghamshire Air Ambulances Countryside Appeal (NAACA), we now have two new display trailers for use at events and shows. For many years our staff, supporters and volunteers have had to endure all kinds of weather at events and major shows, with only limited protection provided by our tents and gazebos. Now we have a proper exhibition style trailer, located near to each office, which can be used at selected major events. This will provide proper covered protection from even the worst excesses that the weather can bring and also means that we have a much improved display for our guests and visitors. These new trailers have been already used at the 2013 Lincolnshire Show, RAF Waddington Air Show, and several others. Not every show will have the necessary space to accommodate a trailer, but we will endeavour to ensure that where possible we use the new facilities to provide better facilities for everyone. You will note that the new trailers are in our newly designed updated livery. We are currently going through a re-branding exercise and will be rolling out the new eye-catching design across the whole charity as costs permit. We have recently taken delivery of new vans for use by the charity, also very generously provided by the Nottinghamshire Farmers group, and these are already in the new livery. We are sure that you will not fail to spot them as they travel around the two counties. Val and Mick Midgely are pictured at the Carole Nash Newark Bike Bonanza on 22nd June 2013, with one of the new trailers, and celebrating their Wedding Anniversary with a surprise bottle of Fizz! One of our new vans plus a trailer, showing the new distinctive livery. From left to right, Sally Gibson, Emma Young and Sue Walker, enjoying themselves in a conventional gazebo at the 2013 Lincolnshire Show. Aircrew assemble to greet visitors at the 2013 RAF Waddington Air Show with the helicopter and a new trailer. One of the new trailers in use at the 2013 RAF Waddington Air Show. 16

17 Leave a Gift in your Will It s a common myth that only the rich and famous leave money to charity when they die. This couldn t be any further from the truth. The reality is without the gifts left in Wills by people like you, many charities would cease to exist. Thankfully 74% of the UK population support charities and when asked, 35% of people say they d happily leave a gift in their Will once family and friends had been provided for. The problem is only 7% actually do. That s why, if we all leave some money in our Wills for charity as well as our family, we can make a huge difference. In fact, just a 4% change in behaviour would generate an addition 1 billion for good causes in the UK every year. Charitable legacies are the foundation of our own fundraising, and last year we received over 1 million in legacy donations. So, you don t have to be rich and famous to make a contribution that can make a difference. We can all do something amazing for the world just by writing a Will and leaving a gift to charity. If you want to leave a gift to benefit the LNAACT you will need to make a note in your Will of our details below: Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust (LNAACT) Bentley Drive, Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln, LN4 2QW Registered Charity No You can write a new Will with a Will-writing adviser or by making an appointment with a solicitor. If you have already made a Will, it s not a problem there are a couple of simple ways you can change it: Write a new Will - The first and probably simplest way, is to write a new Will. Once a new Will is written, it makes any Wills made by you in the past void. In fact, most Wills will start by reciting that you re writing a Will and that you re revoking previous Wills. However, if you do not want to do this, there is another way. It s called a Codicil: Adding a Codicil - A codicil is a document used to change a Will that has already been made. It s used as a way to make simple additions or amendments to an existing Will, like a change in the amount of a gift of money, or the addition of an executor or gift. This is all quite straight forward but problems can occur if you ever want to cancel the Will in the future. When you cancel a Will which contains a codicil, the codicil does not get cancelled automatically, so when you write a new Will it can create inconsistencies and legal problems. To avoid this, make sure that any new Will clearly states that you are revoking all Wills and codicils previously made. We always recommend that you seek legal advice, however, if you require any help or assistance please contact our Legacy Team on We occasionally work with local firms to offer Will writing discounts, so watch out for these on our website, or for example: Where there s a will, there s a way Langleys Solicitors LLP and the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance have a long-standing association. To promote Will writing, Langleys are to offer a Will-writing service, available on a first-come first-served basis. Langleys will be waiving their usual fee where clients make a charitable donation to Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire Air Ambulance of 75 for an individual Will and 125 for a couple. Applications open on 6 January Completing a Will is one of the best ways that an individual can look after everything they care about from friends and family to favourite charities. As an added incentive, the Government has introduced a discounted Inheritance Tax rate of 36% for people who, broadly speaking, leave more than 10% of their taxable Estate to Charities. Specialist Amanda Gale, an Associate Solicitor at Langleys in Lincoln will prepare your Will. From 6 January, to request your pack, including a Will questionnaire, contact Sue Chennells, in our Fundraising office by writing to- Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, LNAACT House, Bentley Drive, Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln LN4 2QW, or call on

18 The Lincoln 2013 Santa Fun Run Every year the Rotary Club of Lincoln Colonia organises a Santa Fun Run in aid of charity. The Air Ambulance has been a regular beneficiary from these events as well as assisting with the recruitment of participants. The 2012 event raised a staggering 63,162 for the charities, including ourselves. This year we are once again one of the charities being supported and we are Ho Ho Ho-ping to raise even more money! The Run is actually a Run and Walk, so everyone can take part. It will be held on Sunday 15th December 2013 departing from Lincoln Castle at am. So why not come along and join the crew and the team from the office as we don our Santa suits ready for the run and walk through the Bailgate in Lincoln. Around 2,000 Santas will be taking to the historic streets in aid of this year s charities. The 1.5 mile walk or run will start and finish in the castle grounds and dogs and children are all welcome! If you want to take part please contact the charity office on or us at fundraising@ambucopter.org.uk and request an entry form, which should be completed and returned to the charity office with your cheque. The standard entry fee is 10 and children under 5 with no suit are free ( 5 if with suit!). Cheques should be made payable to The Rotary Club of Lincoln Colonia. Everyone who takes part is asked to raise at least and all will receive a free finisher s medal and souvenir Santa suit. The Aircrew, assisted by our new Lincolnshire Community Fundraiser, Faye Nam, are all ready for the 2013 Santa Fun Run and Walk. Last year s event raised the grand total of 63,162 for the supported charities, including LNAACT. 18

19 Volunteers Day 2013 On Sunday 6th October 2013 around 90 Volunteers, Staff (from both of our offices) and Trustees gathered at Waddington Village Hall for the Annual Volunteers Day meeting. A great deal of lively discussion took place over an enjoyable lunch that had been prepared and served by staff members. Then our CEO, Peter Aldrick, gave a brief update on the progress being made by the charity after 6 months of this financial year. Although 2012/2013 had been our best performance ever recorded, it appeared that the current 2013/2014 year was already likely to exceed that result. All income streams were showing a positive growth on the previous year. Peter paid tribute to the many volunteers who man stalls at events, work in our charity shops, or assist the charity in many other ways, for the consistent good results that are being achieved. He also updated the assembly on the current plans for night-flying that were very shortly to become a reality. This was an exciting move for the charity, but would inevitably also result in the need for additional funding. Thankfully the charity was now in a strong financial position such that these additional costs could be readily absorbed. Peter thanked all our volunteers for the significant contribution they continued to make to the success of the charity. The CEO addresses the meeting. The Chairman, Dr Ian Hindle, speaks to the Volunteers. The CEO and Chairman make a Long Service Award to Volunteer David Lyall. Our Chairman Dr Ian Hindle then presented long service awards to 5 of our volunteers who had now achieved this milestone. There were in fact a total of 15 medals to be awarded, but the remainder would then be sent to those volunteers who had been unable to actually attend the meeting. The Chairman then gave a brief address in which he stressed how much the charity valued the support of all the volunteers. He stated that, as a Trustee, he was also a volunteer and it was a great tribute to the esteem and value in which the charity was held that so many people went out of their way to support this good cause. He thanked everyone for their continued work on behalf of the charity, in so many different ways, and hoped that they would continue this in the future. The meeting then ended with afternoon tea and further discussion took place at the many tables in the village hall. Our thanks go to Sue Walker, who organised and masterminded the afternoon, and to all the staff and Trustees who helped and supported on the day. Finally, we have to sadly record the recent death of one of our Nottinghamshire volunteers, Alan Tomlinson, who died in October We thank him for his valued service to the charity and send our condolences to his family and friends. Attendees at the Volunteers Day talk to Staff and Trustees prior to the presentation. 19

20 Helping a Vital Emergency Service If you have a few hours to spare, then please contact us. We will be very pleased to hear from you. l Man stalls at events l Look after some collecting boxes l Promote the air ambulance lottery l Help in one of our shops l Organise a fund raising event Designed by Your Air Ambulance l Charity formed March 1993 l 13th May 1994 first patient airlifted l First MD Explorer launched November 2000 l New MD 902 Explorer launched November 2010 l 14,000th mission completed September 2012 l Night Operations Commenced November 2013 Head Office LNAACT House Bentley Drive Bracebridge Heath Lincoln LN4 2QW Tel: Fax: Lottery Hotline Tel: enquiries@ambucopter.org.uk Web: Nottinghamshire Office Unit 2 Chase Park Daleside Road Nottingham NG2 4GT Tel: Fax: Join us on facebook Follow us on Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust. Charity No