Boat Show 1995 Once again the RNLI will be at the London Boat Show at Earls Court from 4-15 January inclusive. The show always proves a successful way of recruiting new members and, of course, current members are very welcome to come along to see us too! We are on stand 60E.

Recruitment At the time of writing the radio advertising campaign on Classic FM and SCOT FM is still running and early signs are encouraging. The door-drop that was distributed in October is also looking good, with many new supporters coming 'on board' through this method of recruitment.

Plans are well underway for further recruitment activities during 1995 to continue to add to our numbers of members. As always your subscriptions are especially valuable in providing regular and reliable income. r Deed of Covenant If you are a UK taxpayer we would ask you to consider signing a Deed of Covenant.

You can increase the value of your subscription to the RNLI by a third - at no cost to yourself. For further information, please contact Membership Services (01202 671133) or take the opportunity to complete the form when you receive your renewal.

Membership Cards During 1995 you will receive your new membership card carrying the revised telephone numbers. These numbers can be used now and will replace all existing numbers from 16 April 1995 in line with British Telecom's change of national area codes.

Christmas Appeal Mailing Thank you to all those members who sent a further donation in response to the recent letter from Dave Kennett - coxswain of Yarmouth, Isle of Wight lifeboat. Your generous support is very much appreciated.

Remember! Storm Force makes an ideal gift for a child and lasts all year! Individual membership £3 Group membership £1 per member (minimum 10)Direct Debits If you have not yet had the opportunity to complete a direct debit, we would urge you to consider making payment of your subscription by this method. Did you realise that it costs twice as much to process a cheque through the bank as it does to claim a direct debit and the administration costs involved in handling cheques are also much higher. Please contact Membership Services at RNLI Headquarters - (01202) 671133 who will be pleased to supply you with a form. Or you can complete the direct debit when you receive your membership subscription renewal.

You will be ensuring that more of your subscription payment goes directly towards helping the lifeboat crews.A Decade of Storm Force Storm Force celebrates its tenth birthday on 4 January 1995, and the occasion will be celebrated at the London Boat Show Press Day - the venue for the launching of Storm Force by pupils of the BBC's Grange Hill school, back in 1985.

This time, two Storm Force members will be the VIP's. Jennifer Moss from Liskeard, Cornwall will be ten on 3 January and Richard Chambers from Cannock, Staffordshire will be ten on 5 January. Among their 'duties' will be the blowing out of the candles on a spectacular Stormy Stan cake, launching special stickers and baseball caps, starting off the Treasure Hunt on the RNLI stand, meeting lifeboat crew members and donning lifeboat gear to be first aboard the mock-up of the flying bridge of a Trent lifeboat on display for the first time.

Other celebrations during the year will include Open Days at Poole and rallies around the country.

The Storm Force junior club is being used in a fun and friendly way and, in conjunction with the new resource pack for primary schools, to raise awareness of lifeboat work among the young. The introduction of the new members' pack and the cheery character Stormy Stan in 1994 has helped boost membership from 15,000 to 25,000 in 12 months.

Readers of THE LIFEBOAT have done their part and have been quick to respond to Storm Force inserts in the journal, resulting in over 1,000 new members.

Lifeboat stations, branches and guilds have also rallied to the new challenge of 'catch 'em while they're young'! In fact organised visits to lifeboat stations, open evenings, treasure hunts and film evenings have all been used to enrol or encourage new members - please let the PR office know of any other ploys used so that we can pass them on! For further information about Storm Force please contact the Public Relations Office, RNLI Headquarters..