Top awards for Dumfriesshire mountain rescue team heroes

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Two members of Moffat Mountain Rescue Service were presented with Distinguished Service Awards at the weekend.Gary Tait and Colin Mitchell received the awards at the Scottish Mountain Rescue AGM at Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore, Invernesshire.Both have a distinguished long service with the Moffat team and the region owes a debt of gratitude to both for their time and dedication during the years.Gary became a member in the early 1970s when he was still in his teens, and has been praised for “seeing the team through both the best and most deeply challenging times and the depth of his local knowledge and history is a continuing asset to which we rely on”.He served a five-year tenure as team chairman and, although he stood down from the role in April, he continues to be an active team member, contributing widely in all aspects of team business.In his long-term role of events officer, he has supported and encouraged fundraising and donations needed to keep MRT going, and it has enabled him to foster close relationships with many other organisations, most notably with St John Scotland.Colin Mitchell has been involved with Moffat MRT for more than 40 years and has also had a major impact.He became deputy team leader in 1986 and soon after led the team through the initial stages of the 1988 Lockerbie Disaster in 1988, remaining in the role through to 2002, “helping bring many young team members onto the callout list and working with the team leader to improve the teams’ capability and presence in the local community”.In 2002 Colin became team leader for four years and led the team through a period of change including taking on a permanent base, increasing the number of team vehicles, and a change to the teams’ constitution.He has