Leatherhead District Scout Council ­PRESIDENT David King DISTRICT­COMMISSIONER Malcolm McKee DEPUTY­DISTRICT­COMMISSIONERS Stuart Kidd Fiona Page ASSISTANT­DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS Beaver Scouts Stuart Kidd Cub Scouts David Brain Scouts Andy Marlow Operations Fiona Page DISTRICT­EXPLORER­SCOUT­COMMISSIONER Julie Bird DISTRICT­BEAvER­SCOUT­LEADERS Emily Brown Francesca Reynolds Caroline Uncles DISTRICT­SCOUT­LEADERS­ Samuel Baker Alison Anderson DISTRICT­EXPLORER­SCOUT­LEADER Parag Patel DISTRICT­YOUTh­COMMISSIONER Elizabeth Page DISTRICT­ChAPLAIN Sue Lawrence ADMINISTRATORS CHAIR Benita Middleton TREASURER Sue Wall SECRETARY Stephen Moss APPOINTMENTS CHAIRMAN Richard Holmes APPOINTMENTS SECRETARY Eric Harlow QUARTERMASTER Oliver Thornton SCOUTLOOK EDITOR Jenny Harlow MEDIA MANAGER Adam Plowden SASU MANAGER Avril Lobjoit BADGE SECRETARY David Wall SCOUT SHOP MANAGER Christine Davis BOIDIER HURST CHAIRMAN Colin Thomas EXECUTIvE­COMMITTEE David King Benita Middleton Sue Wall Malcolm McKee Lizzie Page Stephen Moss Avril Lobjoit Jenny Harlow Eric Harlow Julie Bird Many thanks to all contributors of the cover pictures © MMXIX Leatherhead & District Scout Council. Layout and printing Jones’ Creative Services of Leatherhead - KEEP UP!...KEEP ON SCOUTING! www.jonescreative.co.uk District Commissioner’s Report I am delighted to submit my third report as District Commissioner of Leatherhead District. It is a district which is delivering fantastic programmes to a large number of young people, which is highly visible in the communities it serves, and has fantastically skilled and committed volunteers. It is also recognised as contributing positively to Scouting at county level by supporting county events with key media team members and event support staff, as well as delivering training courses in rare skill-sets. Helping me to discharge my accountabilities I have a great team of senior uniformed volunteers, each group has a committed and skilled Group Scout Leader, and I am fortunate to be working with a fantastic team of Assistant District Commissioners and District Scouters who run our operations, organise District-level events and assist in the delivery of programme at section level, as well as an active and engaged District Explorer Scout Commissioner, and District Youth Commissioner. This is also a time to pay tribute to members of the District Executive Committee who have managed the District’s affairs with skill and dedication for many years. This team is expertly led by Benita Middleton in her role as Chairman and I would like to personally thank her for her advice and support. Stephen Moss, our secretary, has made a superb contribution to the smooth running of the district and in particular organising the AGM and putting together this report. I would also like to recognise that the hardest job in the executive is the Treasurer, and would like to thank Sue Wall for her diligence and all of her help in a year in which we have continued to bring budgets and finances across the district under control. We remain committed to the development plan that I have agreed with the County Commissioner including growing the district, investing in premises, improving the processes for appointing new volunteers, and revamping district events. Each of the section teams has been working hard to offer high quality experiences and some notable examples have been a district- wide beaver camp, the cub fishing competition, and the Wayfinder competition at Scout level. Also this year we will be offering a district-wide explorer overnight incident hike - with the opportunity to win the coveted “golden flip-flop”. It is great to see our significant explorer population working together to plan and deliver what promises to be an awesome event. The World Scout Jamboree represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young people in Scouting and the 7 young people we selected and supported in their jamboree journey have recently returned from the USA and are fizzing with excitement and possibility, eager to share their stories, volunteer their time and pass on what they have learned to the next generation. The inspiration and commitment that the jamboree gives the young people pays us back many times over for our initial support. I am truly proud of what we achieve in Leatherhead District, and this is absolutely down to the volunteers that make it happen day after day, week after week. To all of you, from me, a heartfelt thanks for everything you do. Malcolm McKee - District Commissioner District Chairman’s Report On behalf of all the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and their parents or carers I would like to thank all leaders, section assistants and group executive members for all their efforts in providing exceptionally high quality Scouting across the district throughout the past year. Headquarters and County speak about Scouting providing #Skills for Life. We are very lucky in Leatherhead District to have numbers of well-qualified leaders, with more joining all the time, who provide varied and exciting programmes for the young people giving them the opportunity as they move through the sections to develop skills for life in the “real world”. Scouting allows young people to learn how to assess risk for themselves and to plan and organise meetings or trips/camps for themselves so learning how to be independent and to budget whilst giving them self-confidence. All very important life skills. Numbers in the District have shown a slight increase in numbers of young people over the last year which is against the trend in Surrey which overall showed a decrease in numbers. Most groups have a waiting list and for Scouting to be available for more boys and girls then new younger sections are needed. Numbers in the Scout section are lower but the Explorer numbers are growing rapidly. Leatherhead District funds are supplemented each year by monies from badge sales and the Scout Shop. We would like to thank the new team of Christine Davis & Fiona Bacon who have taken on the role of running the District Scout Shop and are introducing new methods of payment and placing orders. The District continues to support attendance at both County & District events with financial contributions, and also provides the District ADCs with funds to run District events. We have also taken on funding OSM for all Groups/sections and also Group websites including upgrades to include the new branding. This allows the District to present a uniform on-line presence. There are also bursaries available for leaders wishing to complete training for specific activity permits. Boidier Hurst Scout Camp Site, jointly owned by Epsom & Ewell and Leatherhead Districts is continually being improved and developed by a dedicated service crew which could benefit from more support from Leatherhead. It is a superb resource available for use at weekends and for evening meetings March – November each year at no charge to the sections. The District levy is paid for from District funds. Scoutlook is our District quarterly “magazine” ably produced by Jenny Harlow and has been growing and growing. It is a great showcase for all the marvellous things our Scout groups and sections get up to. It is only as good as the contributions received and I would like to thank all leaders who have contributed and Jenny for compiling such a great advert for Scouting. Finally I would like to thank the executive committee members for all their hard work throughout the year and to remind Group Executives that we are here to help. Benita Middleton – District Chair Leatherhead 1 District Explorers Census Ashtead 82 Explorers Bookham 29 Explorers Fetcham 14 Explorers Leatherhead 12 Explorers PESU 10 Explorers Ashtead – Numbers have grown to 82 on the January census and have are now levelling out at around 75. They have opened the Unit on a second night so that they can be split to help manage numbers. The Unit has found additional support from the other Units but continues to look for additional Leaders. 5 Ashtead Explorers are going to the Jamboree this summer. Summer 2018 was spent touring Italy staying in Youth Hostels and travelling by train. We have just had our annual Chill Out Camp at Walton Firs and we also attended Gilwell 24 and Theme Park Camp, both national Explorer camps in 2018 and will be going again this year. Awards have been gained by several Explorers. 1st Bookham – Held a very successful presentation evening attended by one of the County Team. One of the Explorers was presented with their Queens Scout Award. They are running a great programme and they are continuing to have good attendance. One of the Explorers will be attending the Jamboree this Summer. Summer Camp was in Cornwall which included leadership expeditions, fishing trips, speedboats, a visits to Minack Theatre, Land’s End and St Michael’s Mount. A first was the Segway! Easter was spent in Brecon Beacons with crystal blue sky! They took part in expeditions and visited the climbing centre. October was a camp in Kent with hiking and go-carts. They recently had a speaker who was a body guard to Princess Di, William and Princess Margaret. 1st Fetcham – Martin, Dave and Nick are now in place as Leaders for 1st Fetcham Explorers. They are meeting on alternate weeks for an initial phase and numbers have started to grow. They have done various activities including a visit to the local Indian Restaurant to see how curries are made. 1st Leatherhead – With the departure of Kim as ESL, Will Porter has taken over the role, he has completed his Wood Badge training. The District will be supporting him on a Monday night for the foreseeable future until we have been able to recruit additional Leaders. Last year they took part in Norjam, an international camp based in the UK. They have been able to share activities at Ashtead and have now done Archery and Climbing.