Governors ... Shoreline... Storm Force.. A very active membership The London Boat Show always gets our membership recruitment off to a good start for the year, and 1990 was no exception.

Our resident team of recruiters excelled themselves with 1,254 new adult members and 165 Storm Force members.

Well done, and thank you all very much for your time and effort in making such a successful start to a new decade.

At the close of 1989 active membership totalled 153,343 adults (25,690 Governors and 127,653 Shoreline members) with 9,187 individuals and 116 groups in Storm Force.

Overall, this represents the most significant annual increase in the last five years, and we continue to take encouragement from the response to advertising with, on average, some 200 new members each working day. At the end of February membership had reached 160,212 and 10,223 respectively with Storm Force groups up to 122.

The value of membership subscriptions also continues to increase and after two months activity with our Direct Debit/Covenant conversion campaign we can report a highly satisfactory 5 per cent response from members who have already received their renewal form this year. Thank you all for your support.

The membership of the RNLI is vital to its well-being, and not just for the financial support, important though that is.

The membership provides a core of dedicated supporters who can work alongside the branches and guilds and stations to publicise the Institution's work in saving lives, reinforcing its voluntary nature and the need for support across the spectrum of the population.

Recruitment is our aim and we have an attractive leaflet and dispenser which will stand in your clubroom, whether it be a sailing club, a bowls club or your local social club, to encourage your friends to join our scheme.

If you can help, please let us know - a dispenser and 50 leaflets will be sent by return.

Meanwhile, if you cannot wait for your dispenser why not get a friend to fill in the coupon below, or a photocopy if you do not want to damage your journal.

To: The Director, RNLI, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ I wish lo join the RNLI, and enclose my subscription: Shoreline Member - £6 pa 1" f Join! Member (husband and wife) - £9 pa [ j Governor - £20 pa ( | Life Governor - £200 or more I i Lifeboat Address I Postcode LJR1/90 1/90 I A Force to be reckoned with! Membership of Storm Force has already been boosted this year by the new members enrolled at the London Boat Show at Earls Court in January and by more than 100 through a promotion by Barclaycard Profiles.

Following the success of last year's competition for members another one has been organised and will appear in the Spring issue of Storm Force News - with an expenses-paid trip to London for the Annual Presentation of Awards ceremony on 22 May as first prize.

The lucky winner and his or her parents will be able to watch the ceremony in the Festival Hall and meet the lifeboat crews who are to receive their medals for gallantry.

They will travel in style too, for British Rail has very kindly donated the cost of first class rail travel to London for the winner and their parents.

Watch out for the competition in the current issue of Storm Force News, which only members receive.

If you know of someone under sixteen who would be interested in learning.about the lifeboat service and all that is involved, why not use the special Storm Force insert in this journal to enrol him or her? Or, if you would like further details, please contact Storm Force Headquarters, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ, Telephone 0202 671133, ext. 239. If you are not a member why not join now?.