Herts Air Ambulance Celebrates 1st Birthday!

Hertfordshire’s dedicated Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) has been in operation now for 1 year bringing doctors and paramedics to patients who are in need of urgent pre-hospital care and flying them to the most appropriate hospital in minutes.

The Herts Air Ambulance was launched on 5th November 2008 from Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage following 18 months of hard work by the fundraising team, volunteers and the generosity of the people of the County to raise the £250,000 required to secure Hertfordshire it’s very own Air Ambulance. Of course, the hard work has not stopped there as launching the Herts Air Ambulance was just the beginning! Due to the continued support of the public and the hard work and determination of the fundraising team the Herts Air Ambulance has raised over £840,000 to date!

To celebrate its 1st Birthday Herts Air Ambulance held a 1940’s themed ‘hangar party’ at its base at North Weald Airfield on Friday 20th November 2009. The hangar was transformed into a party venue for the evening complete with a stage, bunting, banners, banqueting tables and a beautiful backdrop of a starry night sky.  
 

The evening, which was attended by over 120 guests was a huge success and was a great opportunity to thank the friends and supporters of Herts Air Ambulance who have been so generous in their involvement with the charity over the last year. Guests enjoyed a fish and chip supper and dancing to the Big Band sound of Redbridge Brass Band, plus the star of the show - the life-saving helicopter was on view for all to see and have a look around with the opportunity of meeting the Aircrew up close and personal! 

Jane Gurney, Executive Director of Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT) said, “I would like to thank everyone who attended and helped celebrate a successful year for the Herts Air Ambulance and raise over £800 on the night! A big thank you to Weald Aviation who have provided the home for the Herts Air Ambulance for the past 12 months and for letting us host this special birthday party in the hangar. It was such a successful evening, the Herts Air Ambulance team made a special effort and dressed for the occasion in 1940’s outfits plus special guest Su Harrison did a great job of hosting the event. We now look ahead to another successful year for the Charity.”

It has been an amazing first year for the Herts Air Ambulance, flying over 320 missions in Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas. It has been a very busy year of fundraising for the Herts Air Ambulance Team, launching several new events which will now feature on the annual events calendar. These include Go Red, Rotor Run and Dragon Boat Race. Of course, there is also the annual Charity Ball, which this year was a ‘Carnival’ theme.