One of Tower Lotteries longest-serving canvassers has officially hung up his fundraising boots after more than 14 years representing North-West Air Ambulance. Preston-based Peter Emmott has knocked doors in the region since 2004 and in this time recruited tens of thousands of members for The Lift Off Lotto, providing an income stream for the charity that will last for the foreseeable future.
Peter, now in his 60’s, initially worked directly for the charity but came under the banner of Tower Lotteries in 2012 when we took complete control of canvassing activities in the region. Peter was the charity’s most prolific canvasser, and nobody has recruited more members than he has in his 14-year career. It is impossible to know exactly how much money has been raised through his efforts, but this week alone over 10,000 members that Peter signed up still contribute to the lottery, generating over £500,000 over the next 12 months. This means that Peter’s members directly fund four lifesaving missions every week, a truly remarkable achievement.
Head of Operations Richard Wild said “You cannot under-estimate the importance of Peter’s work and how this has helped to shape North-West Air Ambulance. I know that he will hate me saying this and writing things about his work, however he deserves all the accolades that he gets. He was such a gentle and warm man that did fantastic work for the charity and to the day he retired, he still had the best attrition rate out of any canvasser in the country.
“We wish Peter all the best in his retirement, it is richly deserved and he will be sorely missed. He can retire with the knowledge that his work over the past 14 years has indirectly saved countless lives and will continue to do so in the future as members he has signed up contribute to the charity each week.”
Peter has seen many changes over the years and attended countless training sessions with the charity as new and more modern helicopters have been deployed. When he first started canvassing, the charity only had one helicopter, but this expanded to a second in 2008 and then a third in 2013. Peter is proud to have collected images of himself in-front of the new helicopters as they came onboard, something that he can treasure and show family members and explain how his work contributed towards the fleet increasing.
Peter is set to have his efforts rewarded by featuring in an upcoming issue of Lift Off magazine that is released each year by North-West Air Ambulance.
Photo Neil Cross
Peter Emmott is stepping down from fund-raising for NW Air Ambulance having helped raised thousands for the cause