Distinguished Service Award – Joe Burns

Distinguished Service Award – Joe Burns

To mark his significant contribution to Moffat MRT over the years, Joe Burns was presented with a Distinguished Service Award at the recent Scottish Mountain Rescue Annual General Meeting.  These awards are voted on by all teams across Scotland and their purpose is to recognise team members who have made a highly significant contribution to mountain rescue in Scotland at team or national level over many years.

Joe Burns joined Moffat MRT in 1989, having previously been in Galloway MRT, and he served the team in various positions; Deputy Team Leader, Chairman and most recently as Transport Officer.

Joe has an enviable knowledge of Land Rovers and 4×4 driving and ran the team 4×4 courses for many years.  Recently he was a leading member of a group of team members dealing with the major refurbishment of the team Land Rover and the purchase and fitting out of a new control vehicle. At an outlay of £110,000 this was a daunting task that Joe took in his stride.

Over his service to the team Joe has attended many call outs where mountain rescue skills, as well as his knowledge of local hills, has been of huge value to the team.  Moffat MRT Secretary, Colin Mitchell stated “We could not have asked for a better person with the skills and personality to operate so effectively within our team.  Joe has made a very significant contribution to the operation of the Moffat Mountain Rescue team over the last 32 years and we will miss him.”

Joe, on behalf of everyone at Scottish Mountain Rescue, thank you for all you have done and all the best on your retirement.