## 1[st] Potton Scout Group Annual General Meeting 10th June 2021 ||| |---|---| |1|Welcome bythe Chairman| |2|Apologies for Absence| |3|Agreement of the minutes for AGM 2020| |4|GSL and Section Reports| |5|Chairman’s Report| |6|Treasurer’s Report – adoption of accounts| |7|Fundraiser’s Report| |8|Quartermaster’s Report| |9|Appointment of GroupChairman byGSL| |10|Election of Group Executive Committee
1. Secretary
2. Treasurer
3. Section Representatives
4. Parent Representatives
5. Quartermaster
6. Booking secretary
7. Fund Raiser| |11|Renewal of Support Agreement with Foresters ESU.| |12|Presentations| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ## **Group Report – 2021** A different Year would be an understatement! and a year that also sees our GSL and SL leaving the Group after many years so big boots to fill for all of us. All the sections have battled hard to keep going throughout the year. Zoom has become something we are all now familiar with! We have come out the other side and seem to have survived. Back to almost normal with sections able to meet with unlimited numbers inside or out. (although,we are all mostly outside whatever the weather) I think masks and hand washing will stay as will sanitiser! All sections have good numbers and mostly full. Forester Explorers are back with us and meeting weekly on a Monday evening after Panther Cubs which is great. During lockdown the hall, toilets and corridors has been painted. Our Beaver section has 2 new adults - Paula and Laura who have slotted in perfectly and our young Leader /explorer Bea is back as well, so the colony is going very well. Peter has now become the Scout Leader with the troop and at the moment the troop is full. Our waiting list is rather long with a good number being 6, so another Beaver colony is needed! Recruitment for Leaders is at the top of the list of important tasks needing immediate attention, as is new members for our group executive and some for helping around the site. Our work at the site continues as we improve the area to lay to grass and wildflowers etc and to give more area for camping and the young people to enjoy. We are also clearing the bottom left corner to make room for a new log store, which one of our scouts Owen Smith is doing for his D of E and to hopefully have some alta fires and maybe a pizza oven. We have had a workday and the plan will be to have regular work days to keep on top of all the jobs on site. The site would benefit from a ride on lawn mower which would enable us to cut the grass ourselves. We now have 2 strimmers working, 1 having been mended last week and a new one just purchased to enable 2 people to strim at the same time. Thanks To All Our Leaders: Katie, Paula, Laura, Bea, Jan, Emma, Tom, Maggie, Yvonne, Alasdair, Phil, Keith, Peter, Michael, Carl, Ben, Marc, Andy, Hazel, Helen and James you have all been fantastic this last year supporting our young people and each other through a challenging time. Thank you to our Ex Committee: Bob, Debbie, Kate, Paula, Kylie, Carl and Lorna your hard work and commitment is fantastic . Our Sincere Thanks go to Andy for his unfailing commitment to the Group and the Scout Troop since he has been involved. All the adults and young people across the years have benefitted in so many ways and you have made a real lasting impact, and To Lorna for all her support and understanding. The Group moves forward in great shape for the future because of all your hard work. ## **Maggie Deputy Group Scout Leader** ## **- Raleigh Scout Troop Section Update** This time last year the troop was holding meetings every Wednesday on zoom, after missing only 4 sessions (I think) due to lockdown. Michael Smith (who also helped the whole group) and Andy Gibb really helped get us going on zoom from a very early stage. The troop has met (physically or on zoom) consistently throughout the year, and continued to run a full and varied programme with activity and challenge badges being earned. When allowed to meet physically in smaller numbers we operated in two groups alternating a week in person/a week on zoom, with 3 leaders running each group. We had slightly lower numbers of around 15-20 each meeting. We have seen a number of permanent changes over the year. - Andy has handed over the Section Leader role to Peter, but been a great support in the process. - A number of cubs have move up as spaces have become available. - The troop has been running at full capacity of 30 Scouts for a few months now. - We have effectively lost four leaders by the end of this term, but have also gained two. - • From September I will be the only uniformed leader. Summer camp has had to be cancelled again this year, after numerous challenges associated with COVID-19 restrictions. We are planning a two day expedition hike later this month. Peter White Section Leader – Raleigh Troop ## **– Leopards Cub Pack Report Jan May (Akela) Cub Scout Leader** Leopard Cubs now have 22 Cubs on the register. There are 4 who have turned 10 and already asking about moving on to Scouts. We do have a few very young children at the moment because of the situation with Beavers. I am running the section with 2 warranted Leaders; Tom Hammond and Emma Westmorland, but I would really like some extra help to run the evenings or to cover when a leader is absent, as well as help with planning, collecting in and chasing subs, keeping OSM up to date etc. We do have a volunteer Assistant who is waiting for his DBS check to go through, he is a very keen camper so we are hoping that we will be able to plan some hikes and overnight camps once he is cleared and camping is permitted. We have tried to run a varied and exciting programme throughout the last 12 months, but found online scouting very challenging ; quite a few Cubs dropped out whilst we were online but do seem to have reappeared now. Maggie and I decided that it would be beneficial to merge both packs for some of the Zoom sessions , these ranged from scavenger hunts, RSPB big garden birdwatch, Lego evening, clay modelling, Chinese new year activities to name a few. It was a steep learning curve to get to grips with zoom meetings and didnt suit everyone but we did manage to keep going. Leopards were sent Challenges to help them with some at-home badge work, and they provided some photographs which went into the newsletters we were using in 2020. During the first relaxation of lockdown we did several challenge hikes, and renewed our Promises at Sutton Church, where the Cubs were also presented with the Queen's birthday badge. We have managed to keep the badge achievements going, 2 Cubs who have just moved on to Scouts have earned their Chief Scouts Silver Award and I am finding it much easier to keep track of badges now we are using OSM to plan and record attendance. Emma has now set up a facebook group for Leopards , following Panthers successful one. The parents do seem to like it. Our plans for the future are very much in the hands of the Covid regulations, but we are hoping that we will be able to visit Boyd field for our final evening's activity and hopefully a camp in September. ## **– Panthers Cub Pack Report Maggie Harris (Akela) Cub Scout Leader** A very challenging year! We continued zoom from March to the middle of July 2020 which was hard work but fun and different. The cubs and Leaders became very stagnant by July though, there is only so many things you can do on zoom. So as soon as we could be face to face outdoors in middle August we were straight back meeting. With Swedish Log Fires, Marshmallows, campfires and wide games it was great to just be outdoors together. We had to do some alternate weeks as were limited to 15. Sadly it was back to Zoom in October and we carried on until April 2021 we enjoyed some visiting people on zoom to add some excitement With Astronomy, Art, Lego and Sam’s Safaris . We also welcomed a religious speaker as part of World Challenge and a Policewoman to help us complete our Home Safety Badge. Biscuit making live on zoom was great fun and very successful as was pancake making! A bit of parent participation is always fun. Since 12th April 2021 we have been back Face To Face and with the full pack which is 27 at the moment. Outdoors as much as we can even in the rain. We have done Circus skills with Baloos brother Ash which was brilliant. Badge work has been ongoing and full on Dave the district badge secretary has been delivering them to me all through lockdown which has been fantastic, and I posted them out to the cubs which they also looked forward to receiving as well as their at home packs delivered by Postman Baloo which again made a huge difference to the cubs and put a smile on a few faces. We have welcomed new members on zoom , Invested and said goodbye as they move to scouts. It has taught me that anything is possible it just needs a bit of imagination and planning. Thank you to our Leader Team Alasdair Yvonne Phil and Keith you have kept Panthers going in very difficult and challenging times. Special thanks also to Katie who has helped all through with zoom and face to face which has made a real difference. Akela ## **Riverbank Beaver Colony – Katie Mansion** We’ve had a challenging year at beavers since the last AGM, as the pandemic has forced us online, and our young people find zoom difficult, especially on top of all the zoom they've done for school. But we have been thrilled to be back face to face, and with two wonderful new section assistants. We’ve had a strong focus on nature this term as we have been outdoors, starting with investigation the bug hotels and the pond in the corner of the field. We've had a campfire, learnt about maps, and we've officially welcomed 10 new beavers to the colony already! We're very excited for summer, as well be visiting the RSPB, doing our international and builder badges, and having a visit from Sam’s Safaris. We currently have 18 beavers in the colony, and will be looking to take on a few more in the coming weeks. We have three leaders, a brilliant young leader, and two helpful cubs! Katie (Bumblebee), Paula (Heron) and Laura (Otter). ## **Chairman’s Report** ## **Chairman’s Report 2021** I started last year’s report saying it was one of the strangest situations ever in Scouting and in the events we’ve all faced. Unfortunately, so many have been so badly affected in one way or another, some even losing their lives. Having moved away to Norfolk and being in lockdown for much of that time, I feel somewhat distant from what is going on in Potton Scout Group. I know it has been so difficult for all of us, and I give my sincere thanks to everybody who has kept things going during these really difficult times. It has been good that from April 12th we have been able to meet again, and let’s hope that this can continue going forward. I don’t know what we would have done without zoom over the last 12 months! The next year will see a number of changes in the Group. My heartfelt thanks go out to Andy Hope, who has done so much for the Group in the last 10 years and been a magnificent GSL. We look forward to giving him and the family a magnificent send off on 3[rd] July. I would also like to thank Maggie for stepping into the GSL role. I know what a stirling job she has done and wish her the very best in the future. My thanks go to Kylie, who has done an outstanding job as Group Fundraiser , and Lorna for all her hard work in managing the Hall Bookings. With me now living in Norfolk I regrettably felt that now is the time for me to step down as Chair. I would like to thank all those who have been involved in the improvements of the HQ, the grounds and the building, and of course our wonderful leaders and helpers, who have had to work especially hard this year to make things happen and who have achieved so much. And my sincere thanks go to them all. With all these changes, it will be good to get a fresh input into the Group and we welcome more volunteers to take up this challenge. Here in Potton we have a tremendous group and I would like to pass on my thanks and say how lucky we are to have so many willing, hard working, committed people in the group and on the Executive Committee who work so well together. Sometimes some of these jobs are carried out behind the scenes and people are not always aware of the amount of work that is done. I would like to emphasise that. We have tried to keep the Exec Committee stable, and to that end, Andy Hope will step into the role of Chair, and Lorna and I will continue as Honorary Members. I would also like to thank all of those who have assisted in the fundraising, and everybody that has supported the events which help the finances so much. Including, Potton Consolidated Charity for the grant they gave us this year. Finally, we look forward to Scouting returning to how we know it in the not too distant future. And in the meantime, thank you all for your continued commitment to this excellent Group. Bob Smith Chair **Treasurer’s Report** **Independent Examiner’s Report** 31 ￿11. ## **Kate Gathard** Treasurer ## **Quartermaster’s report** Following on from last year's report I can say is that the sign and gates have now been painted and Maggie has organised someone who's offered to cast the base for the gas cage. Maggie along with various helpers and contractors have done a truly stunning job around the HQ, the landscaping overlooking the field will be a very useful addition once the grass has grown. We've installed sanitising stations around the HQ, I can honestly say if nothing else I've learnt a great deal about what's allowed to be used within a wooden structure that isn't permanently occupied. Who would have though that alcohol based gels can effect insurance on a building hence the use of non flammable sanitiser. We'd hoped to give the kit some use in anger at some point but this has not been possible so I've nothing to report on that. We've introduced a shared group calendar that can be accessed by the leaders to enable the booking out of kit, it's still in the early stages and as we're not using kit at the moment it's not had any use. Hopefully as things ease we can look towards camps away again, something we all miss. Carl