Llandudno RNLI celebrates long serving volunteer
A heartfelt farewell and appreciation ceremony was held at Llandudno RNLI to honour Kelsey Byrne's significant contributions as a volunteer crew member.
Llandudno's lifeboat volunteers trained as usual on Monday 8 April but the evening ended with a special presentation to crew member Kelsey Byrne to mark almost fifteen years of lifesaving service with the station. Kelsey joined the crew in 2009 at the age of 17 and quickly started training on the station's inshore lifeboat. Over the ensuing years, this boat was Kelsey's main area of operational involvement although she also acted as all-weather lifeboat crew and shore crew.
Now expecting her second child, Kelsey has decided that it will prove difficult to make the commitment needed to maintain the significant levels of ongoing competence and training required of lifeboat volunteers. She has therefore stood down from her role, although she will undoubtedly keep contact with her many friends on the crew.
Launch Authority Alun Pari Huws said: 'Kelsey has been a very popular member of crew and was for some years, the station's only female crew member. She brought a constant smile, an infectious laugh and a caring approach to her volunteering work making a great contribution to station morale. She will be missed but we all wish her well in the next chapter of her life.'
Media Contacts
For more information, please contact Luke Heritage, Llandudno Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer on [email protected]. Alternatively contact Claire Fitzpatrick-Smith, RNLI Regional Communications Manager on [email protected] or 07977 728 315.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.
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