annual report - microsoftbtckstorage.blob.core.windows.net/site2525/wingham scout...treasures report...

Wingham Scout Group AGM – 29th November 2018 Charity Number 1021930

8th Deal (Wingham) Scout Group

Annual Report

Prepared for the Annual General Meeting, 7.00pm 29th October 2018

District Commissioner Alan Noake with our friend and amazing Explorer Leader Steve Burr (aka Baldrick) (1964 – 2018)


Welcome Message from the Chairperson and Group Scout Leaders

For the past two years we have wrapped up the AGM business in a pre-presented pack, and

have decided to do the same again this year and we have pleasure in presenting the year’s

work of the group in this document. This will summarise all of the information and reports

that we are legally obliged to publish in accordance with the requirements upon us as a

registered charity and as part of The Scout Association.

The AGM is often seen as an occasion for people to be coerced into doing something, but

for us it’s more about making sure you have the chance to see what happens across the

group and have the opportunity to talk to the leaders and committee, and this year have a

glass of wine with us.

We do hope you will take the time to read this report and attend the AGM this year,

scouting runs entirely on the work of local and national volunteers and your support is

needed to ensure the scouting adventure continues.

We are urgently looking to you to help in a variety of ways, particularly on the executive

committee and with help in a number of the sections, details are shown further in the

report – maybe you need an adventure of your own!

With best wishes

Emma Baker (Executive Chairperson) Alison Sims (Group Scout Leader) Matthew Sims (Group Scout Leader)

3rd year with the same photo, aging isn’t an issue clearly (!) left to right… Alison, Emma & Matthew


Contents

Message from the Chairperson and Group Scout Leaders

Contents

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 10th October 2017

Treasures Report and Presentation of accounts for financial year 2017/18

Independent Examiner’s report and approval of Independent Examiner

Election of Committee Members

The Scouting Adventure

fOLLow the Bear

Beloved Baldrick


Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 10th October

2017

PRESENT: Matthew Sims, Emma Baker, Alison Sims, Babs Rains, Rosemary Sims, Rachel

Eastwood, Lyn Gillie (District Executive Secretary), Alan Noakes (District Commissioner),

Richard Collins, Suzanne Collins, Ken George, Olivia Sims, Louie Wilmshurst, Louisa Smith,

James Rains, Bill Rackham, Charlie Horne, Mr and Mrs Holmwood, Mrs Hadler-Pries, Mr

Cook.

Apologies : John White (SL), Ali Hood, Andrew Walker

The AGM was held at the Wingham HQ. The 2017 report is a formal record of the meeting and can be found on the group website. Below is a record of the formal approvals made at the 2017 AGM.

Minutes of the AGM 2016 Proposer Seconder

Alan Noake Matthew Sims

Annual Accounts 2016/17 Proposer Seconder

Charlie Horne Bill Rackham

Independent Examiner for 2017/18 to be Mr Jack Dale

Proposer Seconder

Rachel Eastwood Alan Noake

FOR APPROVAL AT AGM

Position Name Proposer Seconder Chairperson Mrs Emma Baker Matthew Sims Alison Sims

Treasurer Mrs Rachel Eastwood Emma Baker Charlie Horne

Secretary Mrs Polita Anderson Rachel Eastwood Emma Baker

Member Mr John White Matthew Sims Alison Sims

Member (Beavers) VACANT

Member (Cubs) VACANT

Member (Scouts) VACANT

Group Scout Leader Mr Matthew Sims n/a n/a

FOR APPROVAL AT AGM 2018 Proposer Seconder

Minutes of the AGM 2017 Ken George Suzanne Collins

Chairperson Signature: Date:


Treasures Report and Presentation of accounts for

financial year 2017/18

FOR APPROVAL AT AGM Proposer Seconder

Annual Accounts 2017/18 Suzanne Collins James Rains

Income

Total Gross Income = £5,460.40

Our income was down this year by £5,587.35 (49%) this was mainly due to the

fact that last year back dated gift aid (3 years’ worth) was claimed and none

this year, also the group went on more trips last year compared to this year.

Subs – what happens to the subs you pay?

Some of the money is paid to District for Scout Membership, insurance etc. i.e.

it is a yearly subscription and the remainder is kept for the running of the

group.

The amount paid

onto district

increased by 1% this

year.

44%

13%

0%

12%

0%

25%

2% 0% 4%Net membership subscriptions retained

Donations

Gift Aid

Grants

Fundraising

Trips and Camps

Scraves, Woggles and Badges

Miscellaneous

Rent

-52%48%

Membershipsubscriptionspaid on toDistrict

Net membershipsubscriptionsretained bygroup


Spending

Total Spending = £8,253.98

Our spending this year appears to be high compared to our income however

this is due to payment for KIJ being made this year (50% of our spending) and a

large proportion of the money being collected for it in the previous financial

year.

22%

4%

50%

23% 1% Activies & Cost of Running Group (Badges,Equipment etc)

Camps & Trips

KIJ

Cost of Running Hut


Audited Accounts – sheet 1 of 2


Audited Accounts – sheet 2 of 2


Statement of Assets and Liabilities

(these were approved by the Executive Committee in September 2018)


Independent Examiner’s report and approval of

Independent Examiner.

It is a requirement that the financial accounts for the group are independently audited to ensure accuracy and completeness. The independent examiner was approved at the AGM last year. This was undertaken by Mr Jack Dale.

Our auditor needs to be approved at this AGM, Jack is happy to continue to undertake the

role, for which we are very grateful.

FOR APPROVAL AT AGM Proposer Seconder

Independent Examiner for 2018/19 to be Mr Jack Dale

Rachel Eastwood Matthew Sims


Election of Committee Members

The Executive Committee of the Scout Group is constituted to support

the group in administration of the accounts, premises, fundraising etc and works closely

with the leaders to ensure the smooth running of the group.

The committee is made up of the following members, all named individuals are willing to

remain for a further year.

FOR APPROVAL AT AGM

Position Name Proposer Seconder Chairperson Mrs Emma Baker Matthew Sims Alison Sims

Treasurer Mrs Rachel Eastwood Emma Baker Alison Sims

Secretary VACANT

Member (general) VACANT

Member (Beavers) VACANT

Member (Cubs) VACANT

Member (Scouts) VACANT

Group Scout Leader Mr Matthew Sims

Since we lost the services of a number of our committee members in 2017, the Executive

Committee has been very low on support which has resulted in a reduced ability to support

the group and leaders; there has also been an absence of fundraising activity during the

year.

This means we are in urgent need of more people to support the group. The committee

meets between three and six times a year only, the work of the committee will primarily

be to oversee and review the financial position, ensure the premises are fit for purpose

and the general needs of the group is overseen.

We ideally need four new people to support the group on the executive committee, we

can assure you of a warm welcome and the genuine feeling of supporting the young

people in the village and surrounding areas.

If you would like to join the committee please put forward your name at or before the

AGM or contact one of the leaders or our Chairperson if you can offer to support the

group.


This Year’s Scouting Adventure

All in all, it’s been another busy year for the group, although it has also been a year which has

allowed the cubs, scouts and explorers to settle into a new routine.

The beaver colonies have both continued to give our 6-8 year old members great fun and

friendship and have continued to benefit from dedicated leaders and new young leaders who

are bringing fresh ideas. The Beavers have had some great experiences, both in and out of the

hut, as ever there has been plenty of food involved but also other great activities to keep them

happy, along with visits and outings. There is still a great deal of interest in new members

joining the colony, which is always great to see. We have, however, taken the decision to move

back to running just one Colony at Wingham which although will mean having to operate a

waiting list, it will allow us to manage the group more effectively.

The Cubs have had a full year now with the new leaders in place and they are certainly brining

new ideas to the pack. Looking back over the year they have had a fantastically varied

programme with all the best that Cubs can have; food, hiking, fire lighting, parties, visits to

places such as the Golf Club, learning about nature and recently they have started to transform

the garden with gusto and we hope that their work can allow us to finally get the garden in to

year-round use.

The Scouts have embraced a full year in the new format of a meeting one Saturday a month

and another on a Friday evening. This has allowed some great days to be held over the last

year and has enabled our range of scouting to be broadened, the scouts have not only been

able to have extended expeditions but have frequently cooked lunches in a variety of ways,

investigated plastic use in the village and have been able to have days on the water and visiting

places, the latest being a remembrance based day at the Royal Engineers Museum and the

Chatham Naval Memorial.

The Explorer unit has had a full year with the youngest leaders in the group, they have had

some great weekends, including bushcraft days, expeditions and the most memorable

Taskmaster weekend, where the explorers took part in long distance painting, distance teabag

throwing and lots of other silly tasks.

The whole group went to Downe International campsite in May to have 4 days of fun, food and

activities in a woodland setting with deer and rabbits a-plenty. Although we had a superb

storm on the first night, the weekend was amazing and it was great to have so many young

people under canvas. Massive thanks to all the leaders for making the weekend such a

success, to Tim and Rachel for being amazing cooks for so many of us, John for transporting all

the equipment and those parents who dried tents out after the last-day deluge!


fOLLow the BEar

We continue to have an amazing group of leaders and

committee members, here’s an update on the comings and

goings of the ‘grown ups’ who make the group what it is….

Beavers : Babs and Rosie continue to be the backbone of the Beaver section, working hard

to make sure the section runs so well twice a week. Who would know that they have a

combined age of 342 with the energy they have!

We have been blessed with our other leaders, Grace, Joe and Chloe over the last few years.

Going forward they may be around less, Joe is now starting a new apprenticeship, Chloe has

started a degree at Christ Church University and Grace is in her last year of study and is also

planning her wedding next year. These three have been wonderful in the group and

although none want to leave us, they will not be able to be present every week. Rachel has

helped us on a number of events, stepping in to make sure things always go smoothly.

Cubs : After five years as Akela, Jo Lawn has taken a back seat due to family commitments,

we hope that one day she will be able to re-join us but in the meantime we want to thank

her for all she has done for the pack.

We are very lucky to have two co-Akelas, Richard and Louisa, leading the Cub pack; like Jo

before them, Richard and Louisa are quite new to scouting but have embraced everything

about it and have led the pack brilliantly. James and Suzanne continue to be leaders with

the pack too and together the four leaders have worked together brilliantly, helped by Harry

whenever he is back from university.

Scouts : The leadership team at Scouts has been consistent this year with Matthew, Alison,

Suzanne and Ken continuing to deliver scouts on Saturdays and Fridays once a month. In

November the team will be joined by John Burton. Tim Eastwood has also helped us on a

number of events with support in navigation and expeditions in particular.

Explorers : In the summer of 2017, our three amazing Explorer leaders Steve, Andrew and

Leigh stepped down from the group. At that point Liv, Louie and Ted agreed to run

Explorers and did an equally amazing job until the summer of 2018 when Liv left to go to

university at Plymouth to study Medicine, Louie’s commitment to his job as an arborist and

is fully committed to keeping us safe as a firefighter in Wingham and Ted has been working

abroad as a mountain activity leader; this has meant that none of them could continue

leading the unit. We are still looking for new leaders for the unit from both within and from

outside the current leaders but for the time being the unit is dormant.

Young Leaders : We continue to be blessed with amazing young leaders across all sections,

with Liam, Maddie and Charlie at Beavers and McKenzie at cubs. They are all bringing their

own ideas to the group and the young people greatly enjoy having them around.

Executive Committee : Emma has continued to support the group as Chairperson and

Rachel works incredibly hard as our treasurer, dealing with all finances across the group.


Beloved Baldrick

A tribute to our friend and Explorer Scout Leader Steve Burr (aka Baldrick) who passed away this

year.

If you think you’ve met one of the nicest people in the world, you most probably met Steve

Burr - Baldrick. Baldrick was the Wingham Wizards Explorer Scout Leader for over seven

years, stepping in when we needed a leader even though he had a demanding job in Kent

Police keeping us all safe from terrorists, building his own house as well as normal pressures

of family life. And he was a fabulous leader, loved and respected by everyone in the unit

and all who came across him; this was clearly evident from the large number of current and

past explorers and leaders who turned out in uniform for his memorial service.

Baldrick fought a short but amazingly brave, positive and inspiring battle against pancreatic

cancer, passing away on 9th June, a week after offering to dry all of the tents from our

summer camp – remaining a leader and wanting to be involved and interested in our group

and scouting until the very end. On summer camp we prayed for Steve at our Scouts Own;

Steve had a deep faith and he said that the 50 young people thinking of him had made a

difference that day and that he wished he could have been with us.

Steve was a big part of the Wingham and District scouting family and he is greatly missed,

our thoughts and prays continue to be with him, his wonderful wife Jacqui, his children Jess

and Oliver who were Scouts and Explorers, his family and friends – our lives are richer and

better for having had such a wonderful person in our scouting lives and as a personal friend.


“Every child has the right to an adventure. Life is about

grabbing opportunities. The prizes don’t always go to the

biggest, the best and the strongest – they go to those who

persevere. These are the simple life lessons that Scouting

teaches.”

Bear Grylls, Chief Scout of the UK

On behalf of everyone who benefits from the work of the

Scout Group, a BIG thank you to all the volunteers who make

this group work. Special mention to our amazing Leaders

and Young Leaders who put such a great amount of time and

effort in to deliver programmes and inspirational

opportunities to the young people. The support of Emma

and Rachel who are our superb committee, working behind

the scenes, which is invaluable to make the group run

successfully. Also thanks to our other supporters including

Tim Eastwood, Dan Upton, Suzanne’s mum and dad, and our

Scouting friends across the District

annual report - microsoftbtckstorage.blob.core.windows.net/site2525/wingham scout...treasures report...

Documents