Volunteer praised for 20 years’ service on lifeboats
A LIFEBOAT volunteer has been presented with a long service award for his commitment to the RNLI.
Helmsman Jake Scott began his volunteering career in 1998 whilst serving with the RNLI crew in Weston-super-Mare.
He moved across to the team at Portishead in 2014, in preparation for their formal adoption into the RNLI, and has now completed 20 years of service.
And although Jake has been called out many times, there is one shout he won’t forget – when his pager went off during a meal to celebrate his wedding anniversary.
Jake and wife Kath – who is also a crew volunteer at Portishead – were luckily at a restaurant just around the corner, meaning they could race to the station to help.
The drama was featured in a recent episode of the BBC 2 series Saving Lives at Sea.
Lifeboat operations manager Dave Slack said: “It goes without saying that this level of dedication to our charity is to be commended and, given that Jake also previously served as an RAF Search and Rescue Winchman, it would be impossible to accurately calculate just how many people he has assisted or how many lives he has saved over the years.
“A truly impressive career, of which he can be very proud indeed.’
Apart from Jake’s day job as an aviation training manager, where he travels all over the world, he also, alongside his wife Kath, runs their Sea School in Portishead.
And if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy Jake is also the lifeboat training co-ordinator and organises the training programme and competencies for the RNLI crew volunteers in Portishead, keeping them up to date and fully qualified to go out to sea.
Jake said: “I feel very privileged to have received this award.
“Being a crew member and helm for 20 years has certainly been fun, challenging and very rewarding whilst helping to save lives at sea.’