Volunteer for local air ambulance wins national award

Andrew Pearce, Trustee at the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, scoops Charity Volunteer of the Year award at Association of Air Ambulance’s Awards for Excellence.

Andrew Pearce, Trustee at the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, is celebrating after he was recently crowned Charity Volunteer of the Year at a national awards ceremony held at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel in London.

Andrew, who joined the Charity as Trustee in 2006, secured the prestigious title at the Association of Air Ambulance’s Awards of Excellence, which celebrates the best and brightest from the air ambulance community.  The event saw 12 trophies awarded to pilots, paramedics, doctors, fundraisers and volunteers from the sector.

Not only has Andrew given thousands of hours of his time to represent the Charity’s best interests as a Trustee, but he has also helped to raise over £200,000 for the life-saving work of the local Air Ambulance in a number of extraordinary and extreme ways.

The intrepid explorer has completed an array of extreme challenges around the globe in aid of the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, which includes trekking to the North and South Poles, taking part in the first winter ascent of the highest mountains within the Arctic Circle, and an exploratory attempt to climb four volcanoes in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Most recently, in November 2018, Andrew spent 8 days trekking 200km across the world’s hottest desert, where he faced temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius. The Lut Desert in Iran has only ever been crossed on foot a handful of times, with the first crossing taking place just three years ago.

Andrew, who is a director in the rural agency team at Savills in Lincoln, has also led a number of successful fundraising initiatives as part of his day job. Collectively, the company raised over £100,000 for a number of Air Ambulance charities across the country last year.

Andrew was on hand to collect the well-deserved award at the celebratory event on Monday night, which was hosted by Charlotte Hawkins, star of Good Morning Britain on ITV.

He said: “Winning this award and being selected by the independent judging panel of the Association of Air Ambulances is a huge personal honour. With such tough competition in this sector, I never thought that I would be chosen as the winner. To just be nominated for this award was fantastic, but to win was beyond my dreams!

“As I have said to all my colleagues, this award is for everyone at the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance who all work so hard to make this Charity the success that it is; it’s so wonderful to work alongside these amazing people. I hope that winning this award will inspire others to become volunteers for the Charity, whether this be by raising vital funds, dedicating some of their time to the service or by becoming a Trustee.

“As my tenure as a Trustee with the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance nears to an end, the last 12 years have truly whizzed by. It is so satisfying to have seen our own local Air Ambulance grow and extend its operational reach, and it’s been a real privilege to have been a small part of this incredible journey.”

Karen Jobling, Chief Executive Officer at the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, was thrilled to see Andrew take home this prestigious award and has thanked him for all of his support throughout the years. She said: “The Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance is blessed with many, many volunteers who give their time to support this fabulous charity. Andrew has given more than a decade of service as a Trustee and a fundraiser and we were delighted to put him forward for this prestigious Award.

“His dedication, commitment and passion for the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance has been invaluable so we were thrilled to see him win the Award.”