Hoylake Lifeboat’s volunteer press officer has been presented with a special award for his work.
Dan Whiteley, who is also a crew member, was nominated for the award due to his work promoting Hoylake RNLI, supporting fundraising and safety campaigns, as well as going above and beyond in his role.
Dan began volunteering with Hoylake RNLI back in 2006 as a volunteer crew member. However, his journey with the RNLI began long before this as both his father and grandfather volunteered on the Hoylake Lifeboat for decades prior. Dan, his older brother and younger sister have all since followed in their footsteps.
Having always had an interest in communications and when social media began to grow many years ago, Dan saw the chance to help showcase the incredible skill, courage and selflessness of the crew to a wider audience.
After a few years working in London, he re-joined the crew in 2017 and formally took on the role of deputy lifeboat press officer at Hoylake, advancing to lifeboat press officer in 2022.
For the last five years, Dan has worked hard to share news of rescues, the work of the Hoylake RNLI volunteers and important safety messages with the community, with his efforts both on and off the lifeboat helping to save lives at sea.
Dan manages these two roles alongside working full-time as a civil servant.
He said: “Volunteering with the RNLI will always be such a huge passion and privilege and I wouldn’t be able to manage all this without the help and support from my wonderful wife Siân, who also gives her time to fundraise for our charity.
“We’re a busy lifeboat station so there’s always lots of news to share. Alongside operational volunteering as crew, I spend much of my time writing press releases and social media posts, engaging with journalists, and arranging media interviews with our volunteers.
‘Of course, there would be no news to share without the amazing work of all our volunteers. I’m proud to help promote our station’s lifesaving, fundraising and education efforts alongside my deputy, Robyn and to raise the profile of the RNLI.
“What I enjoy most is seeing the really positive engagement we get with our stories from our local community and supporters around the UK and the world. I’m really grateful to Claire and Danielle in the regional media team and to the wider RNLI for presenting me with this award in recognition of this work.’
The award, a 3D glass engraved model of Hoylakes’ all-weather Shannon class lifeboat, was presented by Claire Elshaw, Regional Media Officer for Wales, North West and Isle of Man, at the crew’s training evening.
Claire said: “I’m delighted to present Dan with an Excellence in Volunteering Award. He has been an outstanding Lifeboat Press Officer. Not only does he work tirelessly to help promote the work of Hoylake RNLI, he also helps out providing support and guidance to other new LPOs.
“I’d like to thank Dan for his commitment and dedication to the role, and the RNLI.”