Caroline Tebbutt to receive the RYA Volunteer Award

Volunteer Caroline Tebbutt © RYA Cymru-Wales

An Anglesey sailing club official will be presented with an RYA Volunteer Award by HRH The Princess Royal, President of the RYA at One Great George Street, London on Friday, 22 November.

Caroline Tebbutt will receive the RYA Community Award for Outstanding Contribution.

The RYA is boating's national governing body and the Volunteer Awards are considered the 'MBEs' of the sport, honouring people throughout the UK for their outstanding contributions across all the disciplines the RYA represents, including sailing, windsurfing, motor cruising, inland waterways and personal watercraft.

Tebbutt was nominated for her award by her club Royal Anglesey Yacht Club and selected as a winner by the RYA Honours and Awards Panel.

"I am humbled to have been nominated by my club," said Tebbutt. "I know how much time a lot of people put in to running the Royal Anglesey Yacht Club and it is quite overwhelming to have been singled out for such an honour.

"My work for the club is very much back room stuff, in that I have been doing such things as minute taking of all club meetings, Membership Secretary and latterly running the membership direct debit payment system, which I introduced several years ago and which has proved really successful.

"I am delighted to be representing my club at such a prestigious occasion."

Caroline became a member of the Royal Anglesey Yacht Club (RAYC) in 2003, spending four years as Membership Secretary and ten as the official minute-taker for management meetings.

Offering her considerable administrative skills to improve management at the club, she has introduced two very successful club initiatives.

She set up a direct debit scheme for membership fees, allowing members to pay their subscriptions electronically, and in instalments.

Starting the new scheme was time-consuming and required a lot of detailed work, but her determination and efficiency have led to over 50% of members now using the facility, which she continues to manage.

She has also introduced an extremely popular club membership card system that allows cash to be added to the cards, enabling members to use them for bar purchases, where they benefit from a discount, as well as for identification.

These initiatives are Caroline's legacy at the RAYC and will continue to provide benefits to both members and the management team well into the future and will help ensure that club finances are on a firm footing.

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