Waterways News
Meet IWA's new
National Chairman
Following a Trustee meeting on Saturday 16th November 2019, Paul Rodgers was elected as the Association’s new National Chairman. He succeeds outgoing postholder, Ivor Caplan, who, after two years at the helm, has decided to focus on areas of particular interest including heritage, navigation and planning. Paul brings a wealth of business and volunteering expertise to the role and is currently chairman and founder of European payments community, Vendorcom. He first volunteered for IWA in 2014, when his wife persuaded him to go on a week-long Canal Camp with her and since then his involvement has grown. Paul has big plans for IWA and says: “My aim as National Chairman is to continue to build on IWA’s reputation, developing well-thought-out, strategic and active campaigns that will result in the regeneration of the waterways to benefit all users, influencers and stakeholders for the remainder of the 21st century – and beyond.” Three deputies have also been named to work alongside Paul: Chris Howes, Rick Barnes and newly elected Trustee Dave Chapman. See our interview with Paul Rodgers on page 18 for a more in-depth insight into his plans and aspirations. Paul Rodgers, IWA’s newly elected National Chairman.
Restoration Raffle success Thank you to all IWA supporters who bought tickets in IWA’s Restoration Raffle. Prizes included £1,000 cash, Imray maps and guides worth £150, a Crick Boat Show festival bundle valued at £250, ABC Leisure day-boat hire, plus many more. R Thompson, winner of a full set of Nicholson guides, said: “Having lived by a vibrant canal for over 40 years and having so enjoyed all aspects of narrowboats, I want to encourage restoration everywhere of this most precious part of our landscape.” The raffle raised a profit of over £8,000, which will all be spent on the provision of support to restoration trusts and societies across the country. One of the Restoration Hub’s first projects this year will be the rewrite of Part 1 of IWA’s Practical Restoration Handbook, a resource valued by all Hub users.
First Silver Propeller Challenge completed Michael and Jo Morehouse, the husband-and-wife team featured in the Winter 2019 edition of Waterways magazine, are the first Silver Propeller Challenge participants to tick off 20 locations. They have been vlogging (video blogging) about their experiences, and details of all the locations they visited can be found on social media through their @nbminiallist accounts. The challenge encourages boaters to visit 20 or more lesserexplored waterways across the UK and it was with a visit to Standedge Tunnel that Michael and Jo finally made it to their 20th location. The couple have decided to keep on boating to try and bag even more locations and we should soon have some news on how participants can extend their achievement to gain a Gold and Platinum Propeller Challenge plaque respectively. Two locations have been added to the challenge list this year (see page 30), and a new pack of information about each of the locations can be requested from waterways.org.uk/silverpropeller.
Michael and Jo Morehouse reached 20 Silver Propeller Challenge locations on their boat Perseverance at the end of last year.
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Spring 2020 23/01/2020 12:22
