## 1st Crowthorne ## Annual General Meeting ## Sunday 17th September 2pm – 430pm (Followed by activities and barbecue) The Hut, Edgbarrow Secondary school ## AGENDA 1. Introduction and welcome 2. Apologies for absence 3. To approve the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 17th September 2022 4. Chairman’s report 5. To receive and consider annual report from the group trustee board including annual statement of accounts. 6. The Group Scout Leader’s review 7. To approve nomination of group chair 8. Election of offices on the trustee board 9. To appoint the independent examiner 10. Presentations 11. Comments from district commissioner or their representatives 12. Close Scouts Previous minutes AGM 2021- 2022 Scouts 1st Crowthorne Scout AGM 17th Seoeth 2022 at I Attendees Apologies Lester aaire Jones Phil Hort Anita Goskell Marc Brunell-wolker Grohom Elliot Alex Forrel Ariel Agenda l. *polo8ie5 fcff ab5uKe 2. of fflinuies Irom the meeb" 3. GSL S. N)wovè GSL nc*ninat 6. El*ttiM of rr*mbers to GEC . fy)wint lndeFVKI￿ exarw¥neJ 8. Pr*s•ntations io. a05e Scouts 1. Chairman address . One minutes sjlence for the l)Jeen Exe(uti¥*. The District COMM￿s1Oner and Dtstria Treasurer were introduced pw)val ol the last minutes 2. GSL Report Marc gave a repc￿t about the numbers in each sectbon Introduced and thanker utilities. Sa%fjn85 been put into separate ..eg.. - buildin85- hardship-new lease- tents Current account- capitation money still to be deducted. Marc made the point about the hardship fund- money is not a barrier to participation - scouts can help with unrfonns. camp and activitie Scouts The Distrirt Commissioner made a comment- bottom line funds look small because of fund5- why are kids not getting the money? fund5 should cover 6 rnonths costs- significant funds need to be made clear where they will be used. more explanation notes on the funds arbd its uses need to be included in the accounts. This question was raised .. Do we keep an annual forecast budget7 Needs to be made clearer in the accounts. A suggestion was made to do a S year run on the accounts to compare year on year. Another plea for new people and ￿lUnteerS to help with developing new perspectives . S. General polnts ralsed Parents want more Information on acthdtles thar are planned so they can plan when to help. Leaders wll try to keep pafents I formed and post more In advance when help Is requlred. S￿sSes￿.0n to advertise and *then help,is needed on more platforms.. Facebook. OMS, a notke board in the SC•)Ut huL More work is needed on the Wdconx pack also J pack for Th￿￿n8 betsten Sert1(￿S. Suggested that e￿h sertlon has thelr CA¥n parent represerrtth to help wlth ng out informatlon. Some dlscussl¢)n on the polky for raklng rfu8ees. needs fvrthef development. Plea lor help.￿th fundralsln& lease. propetTy. secflorth finance. maintenance 6. Presentatlons Bewers - Achieved approx 14 thief scout bronze awards Held a Beavers ￿eep0Ver- for those that didnt go to camp Tr￿ng to Keep actiV7ties low cost Dolphins -24S badges 4wiarded. Scouts Have 4 young leaders - very successful. Alice badge person. A thanks was given to the person in charge of badges. Cubs . over subscribed numbers - the leadership problem5 have been resolved. Need more young leaders. Lots of attivities - Leisure in carnberley activities- lazer tag- cycling . Pam handed awards out . outs - introduced the team of leaders Need more help - people can step in . - not down to one person. Lots of activities - Woodcraft, climbing orienteering , carnival. Mechanic weekend , field guns, box hill, narrow boatin8. Numbers are 30 on a Monday- Tuesday has 28. 7. Dlstrlct Commlssloners Address Talked about scouts being the Building block5 in young lives - gi￿1n8 new experiences and opportunities Mock 10- its on cv- more confident . The Kings Scout award - give value to kids 1 st crowthome is the biggest group. Reiterated the need to help Awarded the chief scout award for good service to Andy Allen. Chalrman Closed the Meetlng Scouts Chairman's report Phil Hart 1[st] Crowthorne Scout ## Group Chairman’s Report September 2023 Items of note during the year Lease renewal - I am pleased to say at long last we're making progress with the lease; we've been here for 40 years! This renewal involves the Scout Association, The Department for Education, Bracknell Forest Borough Council, The Corvus Learning Trust and 1st Crowthorne Scouts, as you can imagine this is all taking time, but I am happy to announce that moving forward Graham Elliot will be helping with this project. Toilet and heating upgrade - this has been completed during the last year. After we made the decision not to go ahead with the major expansion of the Hut, we had enough money to get this work done. Over the years we have had grant money from Crowthorne Parish Council, Tesco, The Co-op, The Carnival, and others. This has been a long time in the planning but has provided a very useful new feature, saving pressure on the kitchen and providing hot water and heat in the hut. Our thanks go to Peter Moruzzi for fitting the boiler and Daniel Mafte for doing the work on the toilets. Two more projects we need to tackle this year are to do with water with urgency are: The roof and the walls, both need a lot of attention, the roof leaks and there is water entering the hut where the walls meet the floor slab which is damaging the floor of the hut *if you have any expertise in either of these areas, we would very much like to hear from you You may be aware the Scout Association are going through a transformation and changing the way they do things to make the organisation more up to date; this shouldn't affect the young people too much and should be beneficial for the leaders, as the responsibilities are shared across teams, meaning more people, less work. Therefore we are looking for volunteers to share their wide variety of skills, please put your name down or talk to one of the committee members if you would like to find out more. Our Family camp was well supported again this year and we received some great feedback, we thank everyone involved who made this such a success and the team are now working on the Family camp for 2024. Fundraising is also in focus for our group this year, we ran a BBQ at the late-night shopping just before Christmas, and we plan to be part of the Crowthorne Carnival next year which provides opportunities for fund raising and having fun, this is always a special village event, and we look forward to taking part once again. We also have some other events in the pipeline and as always, are looking for volunteers. Finally, I would like to thank all the leaders, helpers, and trustees for all the hard work that they do for the group to support our young people. We are sadly saying goodbye to two people who are leaving us, Anita Gaskell, our Secretary, and Marc Brunel-Walker, our GSL, we wish them well and again we thank them for all their efforts. Phil Hart Group Chairman ## Treasurers Report Alex Farrell Graham Elliott Income: 2022-2023 Total Income: £67 EO Bank InterèstGift Aid £31.260 Scouts £4,747 Fundraisi £12.076 Events mm H•Jiic￿. i)Iii T￿￿ Y•w 135. Labt Y•w 1 É10.272 Membership Fees Comprl•lng of.. Mernbershi Fees Event5 Fundraislng Donation Rent 8ank Interest Glft Aid enses: 2022-2023 Total Expense: -£26,152 -£1.159 Camping EqutPry-- Scouts -£1,616 Badges -£1,753 .£10.987 Events Insur.Inc -£3.514 MeetiThJs -£4,275 Venue mainte￿￿• Ev8nt8 Venu8 M8lnteni.. MtreiiNA$ Insurnnco 10.987 44275 -£3.514 41.753 -£1.616 Uillities rnpiw Equlp.. Bank Fees FundraisirvA rnin Actiwty Equiwn•.. 12 1.15Y 862 -£521 120 -£115 Att￿ntball￿+br0U9htfQThyIr1 T0ts14xp•ndlturA E47.920 £33.$ 138.658 £5.11 E53.028 E16.092 E36.935 Scouts Accountbalanr•cbThl•Otorwwd Cufr4rtAc< Savin9 ACC Bulldlng fund £16900 Hw%l*hlp luThd ÉSOO B••￿r* ¥•cllon fvrld ml Caplt•tbon FY2324 É71•0 Dl•irkt COVX) y*nt ￿n￿rnn¢• £4000 Tw•olSw ElO,rth) ITh( FR.O(K> [6.(￿) 1'.4.000 t(￿) -Toll•l Rofurt) -Utilitlo• -Drainag• oof £0 ## Section Reports Group Scout Leader Beavers ## Cubs Scouts ## Deputy Group Scout Leader Dear Members, Leaders, and Parents, Another fruitful year has come to a close, and it's with a sense of pride and gratitude that I reflect on our accomplishments and look ahead to the future. ## Membership During the year, our group has seen a consistent number of members across all our sections: Beavers: 34 (Dolphins and Orcas) Cubs: 42 (Eagles and Wolves) Scouts: 52 (Hawks and Leopards) In total, we had 22 dedicated Leaders and an ever-growing support team, which is a testament to our thriving community. ## Achievements Our programmes have been incredibly successful, evidenced by the record number of top awards—Chief Scout Bronze, Silver, and Gold—that we have awarded to our members this year. The hard work and commitment of our Scouts and Leaders has certainly paid off. ## Future Plans In the coming weeks, we will be reviewing our two-year activity plans for each section. The focus will be on diversifying our activities to provide opportunities for earning more badges. ## Special Thanks I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Aly for her invaluable assistance in managing our badge inventory and facilitating the awards. Moreover, a big thank you to all of our Leaders for their tireless commitment and dedication over the past year. Your efforts are what make our programmes so successful. I'd also like to acknowledge the indispensable contributions of our Parents, who have generously offered their time and support—be it through participating in camps, social activities, or fundraising efforts. ## Farewell Message Lastly, a special thank you to our outgoing Group Scout Leader, Marc. Having served since June 2017, your vision and drive have been instrumental in shaping our Scout Group into what it is today. As we move ahead, let's continue to support each other and strive for even greater heights. Warm regards, Ariel Merzer Deputy Group Scout Leader ## Beavers (Dolphins and Orcas) It’s been another busy Beaver year, we’ve achieved so much with a variety of different activities taking place for our Beavers to be involved in. We have welcomed many new faces and said goodbye to others as they have moved up to Cubs. The Library – Crowthorne Library ran a reading and craft session, the theme was Roald Dahl, the Beavers read The Twits and had a chance to make some fantastic beards to wear. Fire station – Our potential budding Fire officers got the chance to have a talk at Crowthorne Fire station, they all got to use the hose and got to see the fire engine go out on a call which was very exciting Litter pick – huge thanks to C.R.O.W who lent us some equipment to do a litter pick on Morgan Rec, we couldn’t how much rubbish we managed to collect in one session. Armed Police evening – Matt Sims (parent) bought his work-kit in for all the Beavers to try on, they listened to what it’s like to be in the armed police, explaining all the equipment. Dan Heaslewood (parent) – opened up the workshops at Edgbarrow for us to build bird tables, the Beavers were taught how to use the saw safely and produced some amazing bird tables. Visit from Water Aid - Alan came to speak to the Beavers about the charity, he was able to share all the countries he had visited as part of his job and the Beavers discussed what they could do to help those countries. There was lots of talk of poo which kept the Beavers entertained. ## Visit from Fairtrade – Visit from Thames Valley Heath Partnership, Michael the Ranger, took the Beavers on an educational trip around Wildmoor Heath, they loved seeing the wide variety of insects that live on the Heath. Night Hike - Our night hike rewarded us with the sight of bats flitting in and out of a box. Annual Big Den Build – This was a high point when beavers fought the Fromblies (friendly zombies) to defend their dens ## Remembrance Day One of our two main events of the year in Scouting is Remembrance Day, we had a good attendance which is always good to see. Our Beavers did really well to sit nicely during the service and we are proud of them as they observed the two minutes silence and stood perfectly still whilst the names of the fallen were read out. ## Christmas party Well done Magic Moments for providing us with a fantastic Christmas Magic show, the beavers loved the interactive show. ## St. George’s Day There was a really good attendance at the St. George’s Day event at Edgbarrow even though the weather was not on our side ## Family Camp 12 Beavers attended the family camp this year at PACCAR, the Beavers took part in so many activities, zipwire, laser tag, rabbit run, go-karts to name a few. Lots of fears were faced and badges achieved. Because our Beavers did the Faith trail and Woodland trail they were given special badges by PACCAR. Insider info: we’re currently working on next year’s camp � ## Dragon Boating This took place at Horseshoe Lake for the end of term celebrations, with all sections at 1[st] Crowthorne; there were Dragon Boat races which included some very competitive parents. The evening ended with a picnic and hot chocolate. ## Beavers sleepover Finally, our first joint sleepover with Dolphins and Orcas . This was the first time many of the Beavers slept away from their families so there was a lot of excitement as well as a few nerves. We had 20 Beavers in total. There was a wild west theme and activities included archery, a treasure hunt, tin-can alley finished off with a camp fire, they ate lots and slept little � Across the year an amazing 543 badges were awarded to 1[st] Crowthorne Beavers – this is a FANTASTIC achievement – as well as this, 17 Beavers achieved their Bronze Chief Scout Award ## Well Done Beavers! Last but not least, a HUGE thanks to our young leaders James, Harley, Lucy, Isaac, Izzy and Oscar ## – Cubs Eagles and Wolves 2022 /2023 has been an exciting , challenging and rewarding year for cubs in Crowthorne . We have run 2 cub packs again with around 40-45 cubs attending each week between the 2 packs , Wednesday slightly less than Thursday in numbers but we've shared responsibility between the leadership teams and shared the programme even doing a few joint evenings. Billy left cubs as is lad has moved up and onwards but Owen Toublic took over on Wednesdays (as a 19 year old!) with support from Teresa, Emily & Richard Joyce returning to help which was great. Robin was leading on Thursday with support from Kyle, Darren and recently Ian Allen has been helping. Our young leaders have developed into a decent unit with Orr, Jake Ca, Jake Cr, Roy and Fin doing brilliant work and we understand Sophie is re-joining us this term. Owen has now finished as he is pursuing further education in Bournemouth and planning to become a paramedic; we thank him for phenomenal support and wish him all the best for the future. We had a full and fun programme including Den building, bike riding indoor pioneering, Diwali crafts, tent racing, hiking from Horseshoe lake, Christmas crafts, pancakes, fire building, Remembrance with the British Legion, cooking. We had great participation at the Family camp at Paccar this year which everyone is keen to do again in 2024. We finished the year with great fun doing water sports at Horseshoe Lake and said goodbye to the year on a lovely sunny evening. Eagles have awarded total of 275 badges & 3 Chief Scouts silver awards; Michael Furzer. Oliver Thomson, Harvey Higgins. Wolves have awarded total of 165 badges & 2 Chief Scouts Silver awards; Liam McGregor & Tom Paxton. Aly has been amazing in helping with badges and we have had some great support from parents as well. Scouts Ib ## - Scouts Hawks and Leopards 2022-2023 has been an interesting year with a varied programme of activities. In addition to our weekly meetings Scouts from Hawks and Leopards have participated in the JOTI/JOTA event in October 2022, the district shooting competition in November 2022 and district wide game in March 2023 and a weekend camp in Earlywood in July 2023. More recently, in August, a number of our scouts participated in the district activity days arranged in Pirbright. Our activities have been varied throughout the year. Cooking challenges have often seen the scouts getting creative. We have had some very successful ‘Ready Steady Cook’ sessions with plenty of edible food created! We also had the less successful tin-can pancakes but we live and learn (frying pans next year)! Other activities included air rifle shooting, archery, mountain biking and an entertaining visit and talk from our local European Martial Arts group who demonstrated an array of swords and duelling techniques. As a result of additional bank holidays we had a number of joint sessions. Our combined trading post/taskmaster session also got all the scouts working well together with a lot of thanks to Conn Farrell for helping to arrange at the last minute. Over the course of the past year we have awarded a total of 420 badges. Over the next year we are looking to organise further camps and potentially a narrow boating weekend. We are also looking to run an expedition challenge weekend for scouts who are looking to progress towards completion of their chief scout gold award. We would like to thank Conn Farrell and Sophie Allen for their assistance with running sessions during the course of the year and Rob Allen for all his assistance and in particular for organizing the Earlywood Camp. Below we have provided some photos of a few of our activities throughout the year. Finally if there are any parents who have a specialist skills or hobbies that they would like to share with our scouts at a scout session please let us know. We are always looking for new and engaging activities to include in the programme. Scouts