Why RNLI and CalMac stalwart Iain MacKenzie should be a hero to us all
The RNLI rescues ‘anyone in trouble at sea... without judgment or preference’
“Looking after one another is vitally important.” So said Captain Iain MacKenzie, who will today receive a Merchant Navy Medal for Meritorious Service after more than 30 years working for ferry company CalMac and more than 20 as a volunteer for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
The 60-year-old from Skye is master of the MV Loch Nevis, which provides services to the Small Isles, and has performed various duties at the Kyle of Lochalsh Lifeboat Station since 2004.
He said that, over his time volunteering with the charity, the need to look after each other had become “increasingly clear to me”. It is a simple statement, but a powerful one at a time when society can often appear divided, fractious and uncaring, with ‘road rage’ style arguments on social media spilling over into the real world with increasing frequency.
The RNLI rescues “anyone in trouble at sea... without judgment or preference”, as it has been doing for more than 200 years. The rest of us would do well to be inspired by the example set by heroes like Captain MacKenzie and all his RNLI colleagues.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.