The exceptional work carried out by David Hannah as RNLI Regional Appeals Manager for the South West was recognised at a ceremony at the Dart Lifeboat Station on Friday 4 October.
The presentation was made by the Chief Executive of the RNLI, Mark Dowie, before a large gathering of his ex-colleagues and grateful volunteers from the many stations he had guided to complete their appeals for new lifeboats and lifeboat stations.

The Presentation certificate read;

‘The Chairman and Council of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution wish to record their sincere thanks to Colonel David Hannah OBE in recognition of the great success of the regional appeals for Lifeboats and Lifeboat Stations at Padstow, Exmouth, Dartmouth, Jersey, The Lizard and Looe, raising over £6m. It was through David’s direction that each of the appeals generated such support from their local communities that not only built on the already strong volunteer contribution but surpassed all expectations.
David was instrumental in significantly raising local participation through his leadership and dedication, leaving a legacy of great pride in all the stations.

Mark Dowie.’

David himself wrote the following for the third issue of Dart D’Tales, published in August 2008, little knowing that, 11 years later, the volunteers at Dart would have launched 413 times and saved 12 lives as well as having an Atlantic 75 B class lifeboat half way through a two year trial to see if she should also be part of RNLI Dart.

‘Our appeal for funds to set up our new Dart lifeboat station has been an enormous success.
Not only have we reached our target of £259,000, we have now exceeded it. At the time of writing our appeal fund stands at £282,212. The establishment of our new station has been made possible through the enthusiasm and dedication of our volunteers in Dartmouth, Kingswear and Totnes and the generous donations made by members of the public, businesses, charitable trusts, clubs, event organizers and other organizations.

Through our appeal for funds, they have all answered our call for help. The result is a new RNLI facility for saving lives on the River Dart and in coastal waters and for providing sea safety advice through education, which we hope will serve the community for years to come. We are very grateful for all your support.
Our appeal to meet the set up costs of our new station will close on a highly successful note on 1 September 2008. Any residual funds in the appeal account will be used for the operational maintenance of this station and our volunteer crew. Despite the completion of the appeal we will still need your help to fund the annual running costs of the station, which will be in excess of £30,000 per annum. We will need to maintain the boathouse, service the lifeboat and associated equipment and continue to train our crew, some of whom come from a non-maritime background. On average we spend £1000 each year on every crewmember to ensure their skills through training are of the very highest standard and that they are all equipped to meet any eventuality that they may face in saving lives on the water. So the RNLI’s Dart lifeboat station will continue to need your help in the years to come. Your valuable support and contribution in whatever form it might take will mean that we can go on following our proud tradition of saving lives on the water and providing sea safety education.
Thank you.’

David Hannah, RNLI Appeals Manager.

It was a pleasure to welcome David back to Dart and thank him for all his hard work in making the station a reality. 

All the past history of RNLI Dart can be found on the station web site under the Dart D'Tales tab at the top of the page.
Further photographs of the event can be seen under the Photo Gallery tab.