I have a couple of good news stories to share with you. Firstly, over the summer months there has been a surge of activity on the riding side of the Group. The list on page 2 of the October Newsletter shows the rider Associates who have joined us since the August newsletter and there were more rider Associates before that. Credit for much of this success has to be given to our lead rider Observer Alan Douglas for his enthusiasm and commitment to engage with the rider community. Over the last couple of years he has trained / been involved with the training of rider Observers in addition to Associate training. We now have three qualified rider National Observers and one in training. Adding advanced rider training was kindled some two and a half years ago. We knew at the time that success was not guaranteed and that only through hard work, determination and patience that success could be possible. All of this has been achieved and there are good signs that we are now reaping the rewards.

Another piece of good news is that Wayne Chalkey has kindly taken on the role of our Publicity and Recruitment Officer. Over the last 12 months driver Associate recruitment has been in the doldrums and so Wayne’s involvement in this role is timely and much needed. We cannot just sit back and wait for driver referrals from IAM RoadSmart. We need to be proactive with recruitment but also recognising that this will take time and patience to develop our networks in our community. Ultimately, the more people that know who we are and what we do the more opportunities there are for recruitment for both our driving and riding elements. We have a large number of high quality leaflets and business cards that promote IAM RoadSmart and the St. Helens Group. Please get in touch if you would like some of these for your community notice boards or to give out to members of other organisations that you may be involved with.

Mark Farnworth

Group Chairman