RNLI volunteer Roger Hawkins has been recognised for helping to organise events which brought in more than £329,000 over the last 10 years.

Roger attended Dartmouth Navel College along with many other volunteers where the RNLI held a long service awards ceremony.

Roger joined the RNLI as a fundraising volunteer in 2000 before joining the fundraising committee in 2004.

In this time he was a key part in helping to organise events which raised over a staggering £329,000.

Upon first joining the committee Roger was asked what he could do to help boost the fundraising efforts the team were undertaking, he first started with an appeal for bric-a-brac and unwanted valuables which the committee could sell.

This sparked the next step on his fundraising journey and Roger was soon appointed as event organiser for the Teignmouth RNLI Fundraising Team.

Roger, along with a team of volunteers, began setting up a stall under the veranda at the side of the Lifeboat Station, selling the donated goods

He later explains explains ‘providing refreshments and seats so people could stop and chat about the latest exploits of the RNLI. This proved very popular, and we soon progressed to regular Coffee Mornings at a venue in the town providing refreshments and home-made cakes and with stalls selling collectables, crafts, and books.’

Various events such as Table Top Sales, Family Fun Days, Station Open Days, Fetes, Boat Jumbles, Open Gardens and Concerts, BBQs’, Games, Raffles alongside the traditional events such as a Christmas Carol Service and the long-established Boxing Day Walk-in-the-Sea created a busy calendar of fundraising events over the many years Roger volunteered.

Speaking of his achievement Roger was keen to highlight how he couldn’t have achieved such a high figure or the length of service without the support of the fundraising team around him.

‘As event organiser I attended every event and always led from the front and always experienced the total support and co-operation of the volunteers involved, which was always 100% and for which I am most grateful.’

Between the years 2008 and 2019 the number of events organised by Roger ranged from 45 to 70 events per year.

When asked what his most memorable events were he commented ‘I always enjoyed everything I did but I have to say that Open Gardens were my favourite.’

Roger who turns 80 this week, retired from his position as Event Organiser in 2020, however he continues giving his time and wealth of knowledge as a volunteer within the RNLI fundraising team.

Roger attended the long service recognition ceremony with his wife Janet, who has also been a prolific fundraiser, helping Roger to organise and pull off the numerous events over the years.

Speaking on behalf of the fundraising team at RNLI Teignmouth, Adrian Knowles said that they are ‘thrilled that Roger has received recognition for all of his hard work and dedication to such a wonderful cause, his efforts have gone a long way in helping to save lives at sea’.