It was a very special night for Moray Inshore Rescue Organisation (MIRO) on Monday 12th September when the MIRO team, former volunteers and guests from the local community came together to honour Director, Dr Roddy Stewart, who retired from MIRO after 17 years of service. Roddy joined as a crew member when MIRO was established in 2005 and, for the last 13 years, has served as a Director.
At the ceremony, which was held at the Royal Findhorn Yacht Club, eleven frontline MIRO volunteers were also presented with a special commemorative medal to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The Platinum Jubilee medal, designed to thank its recipients for their public service, features a portrait of the Queen with the Latin inscription “Elizabeth II Dei Gratia Regina Fid Def”, which translates to “Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen, defender of the faith”. Acting as a token of the nation’s thanks, the Platinum Jubilee Medals have been awarded to serving members of the Armed Forces, recipients of the George and Victoria Cross, frontline emergency service workers, prison service staff and members of the Royal Household.
Deputy Lieutenant of Moray, Mrs Sue Finnegan, presented Platinum Jubilee Medals to:
Senior Coxswain, Simon Paterson
Operations Manager, Peter Mackenzie
Helm, Alastair (Attie) MacDonald
Crew members: Claire Weller and Shaun Burns,
Shore support Volunteers: Jock McEwan and Sean Maclean
Medals were also awarded to 4 volunteers unable to be present on the night:
Helms, Ben Fraser, Steve Leslie, Phillipa (Pippa) Low and crew member, Lee Binks.
Deputy Lieutenant of Moray, Mrs Sue Finnegan, said: “My husband, Timothy, and I were delighted to be invited to this special event for MIRO. Then I was asked to present the so richly deserved Platinum Jubilee medals. So now I am not only delighted but also very honoured. Not only is the Village of Findhorn very proud to be the home port for MIRO but also, far and wide in Moray and beyond, people are full of admiration and gratitude for the amazing service the Moray Inshore Rescue Organisation gives freely, entirely voluntarily and unconditionally to those in peril on the sea, on the sands and on the rocks. Because of the unstinting courage, commitment and selflessness of MIRO volunteers, they instantly and round the clock rush to the rescue. Imagine the relief and comfort they bring to frightened and desperate folk. Facing potential dangers and risks for stranded strangers, MIRO are indeed the good Samaritans of the sea. May they always return safely home.”
MIRO Chairman, John Low, said: “This really is a very special evening. Not only are we honouring one of our longest serving volunteers but eleven of our current volunteers have received this very special honour. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Roddy Stewart for seventeen years of incredible service to MIRO. We appreciate the enormous contribution Roddy has made to the organisation, first as a member of the crew and latterly as a Director. As a Director, Roddy fulfilled the roles of both Treasurer and Secretary for five years from 2009 – 2014 and, without his fundraising efforts, there is no doubt that MIRO would not be as well equipped today to carry out it’s life saving function. I would like to congratulate the eleven members of our team who have received these very special commemorative medals and offer my most sincere thanks to them, to Roddy and to all our former and current volunteers.”
So far this year, MIRO volunteers have responded to 13 emergency callouts. They responded to 29 incidents in 2021 and 25 incidents in 2020. Incidents included searches for missing persons, helping paddle boarders, wild swimmers, kayakers, kite surfers and sailors in difficulty, as well as helping members of the public and their animals cut off by the tide.
