A Lossiemouth couple have expressed their shock after receiving a special certificate of thanks from the National Lifeboat Service.
With £75,000 raised for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Mandy and Mick Rowland will be awarded a special certificate.
For the last 17 years the pair have been driving around Moray collecting donations for the lifeline organisation.
Living in Lossiemouth currently, the pair are tasked with trips as far as Keith and Buckie, where the lifeboat station is located, and then banking the donations.
Working as a Box Secretary, Mick, 70, has been providing the vital service alongside his wife Mandy who assists him.
And their work has not gone unnoticed by the RNLI.
Mandy, who is 65, attended the Buckie Lifeboat station this week to accept the award on behalf of Mick, who could not make it due to an illness.
The Excellence in Volunteering award was presented to them by Buckie Lifeboat Operations Manager, Anne Scott and Coxswain, David Grant.
Mandy wanted to be involved with lifeboats from childhood
Mandy, originally from Stratford-upon-Avon in England, was “shocked” upon receiving the certificate.
She said: “I was totally shocked, I had no idea about it but we were totally surprised.
“Me and Mick were absolutely delighted.”
Volunteering for the RNLI since 2006, Mandy said that she has wanted to be involved since her childhood.
“My dad did his national service for the navy,” she continued.
“Whenever we went on holiday as children, we would always go to the coast and seek out the lifeboat station.
“It was back in the day when you had the big round pennies and we would always slide them in the boxes. It’s just something we always did as children.
“So as soon as we had the opportunity to get involved with the lifeboats, we said “why not”.
“Donations are so important to maintain the lifeboats.
“Every donation helps, even if it’s only 10p or 20p into the donation box.”
Volunteer’s the ‘beating heart’ of the lifeboats
Anne Scott, Lifeboat Operations Manager also said: “Fundraisers are the beating heart of the RNLI and without volunteers like Mick and Mandy our lifeboat crews would not be able to continue saving lives at sea.
“As a charity we receive no government funding and collection boxes are a hugely important source of income for the RNLI.
“We are extremely grateful to Mick and Mandy for their hard work, and all our supporters who put a donation into our collection boxes.”
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