12[th] May 2026 The Annual General Meeting was held bin the McMordie Scout Hall on the above date at 7:30pm. PRESENT: William Mawhinney Robert McKissick Paul Entwistle Colin McShane Michael Bennett Elizabeth Matthews John Corry Chris McElwee Stephen Short Jen Higgins Alain Josh Alix Devenney Belinda Bowden Rebecca Shannon Michael Shannon Apologies Stanley Mawhinney Stephen Boyle The Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming everyone particularly our President John Corry the three parents who had attended. He thanked Robert and all the section leaders and volunteers, without whom there would be no scout group. He asked that a special thanks and best wishes be given to our Beaver Leader Jen Higgins who will be retiring in June after many years of volunteering in the group. He thanks Jen for everything she had done for the group over the years and wished her well for the future. On a sad note, the Chairman mentioned the passing of a number of former members during the year; George Treanor – a longtime member who spent many years on the executive committee Brian Mallaghan – ex-venture scout leader and committee member Olive Dobson – ex- cub leader John Simms – longtime member and friend of the 10[th] Alan Philips – ex cub and scout It was particularly sad to note that Brian and Alan have passed away at such relatively young ages. The thoughts and best wishes of the group are sent to all their families and friends. The Chairman then asked Robert McKissick, the Group Lead Volunteer and Scout Lead to present his annual report to the meeting. Group Report for 2025-2026 Robert proceeded to share some of the activities the Sections have been active in over the last year. The Squirrel Drey is small in numbers but have a fun pack hour each Wednesday, doing Arts and Crafts. The Beavers Colony this year won the district skittle competition in November took part in District uni hoc, and art competition and also the District spring walk in April. They have had outings to ‘Follow the Star’ at Bloomfield Methodist at Christmas and completed a lantern making workshop before taking part in the East Belfast lantern parade. Completing many badges this year including the disability awareness, money skills, space activity badge, teamwork challenge, faith badge and explore are just a few. They are also heading to NI Beaver rally day on 16th May at Crawfordsburn Activity Centre. The Cub Pack had a summer weekend visit to Mountstewart when they did fire lighting, cooked some sausages and shelter building, and also had an Easter Camp at Mourneshore with a trip to Newry Swimmers and made bug hotels. Badge work and Activities continue to be at the forefront of program nights. The Scout Troop and Explorers continue to meet together and have enjoyed a range of District run activities, taking part in the Belfast Monopoly Run, District Volleyball, District 5-a side and District Dodgeball. The Explorers took part in a Survival Weekend at Crawfordsburn as well as doing their Young Leader Programme Training Modules. Activities also included a trip to Fundammania, a Saturday walk from Whitespots via the Lead Mines to Helens Bay and taking part in The East Belfast Lantern Parade. A very Cold and Wet Winter Camp at Mourneshore in January and defeated Storm DAVE and Easter Camp was again held at Mourneshore. The sections also have members doing Bronze, Silver and Gold DoE awards. Several of the Troop have attend Weekend Patrol Leaders Training at Crawfordsburn Activity Centre and it was also great to have Zak and Allen selected for the World Scout Jamboree in Poland in the summer of 2027. Adult membership increased this year by 1, with the Youth Members staying the same as last year with 43 and 2 Explorers. We are actively looking Leaders to help with our younger Sections if anyone is interested please reach out and we can have an open discussion. Finally Robert added his personal thanks to all the Section Leads, Assistants and Helpers for without their commitment to each section the Group could not be sustained, and also to the Members of the Trustee Board who help keep Governance, Financial stability and the building maintenance all together again thank you for your support and commitment. Robert then presented long service awards to William Mawhinney 20 years and Michael Bennett 15 years. The Chairman thanked Robert for his report and invited the treasurer William Mawhinney to present the finance report. ## Finance Report William presented the 2025/2026 accounts to the meeting. The overall financial position of the group is strong with the current account balance at 31-3-26 of £13,373, in addition the group has building society bonds totalling £118,500 giving total funds of approximately £132,000. Our total income for the 2024-2025 year was £26,360. Our expenses for the year were £37,830. Resulting in an operating loss of £11,470 However, this ‘income v expenditure’ loss being due to £15,000 being invested in a new Bond with the Progressive Building Society and maintenance work being carried out in the hall in terms of painting, new carpets and replacement emergency lighting. Underlying financial performance in the group remains strong. William concluded by thanking all section leaders who volunteered their service to the group and for their help in co-ordinating all the subscriptions. Paul thanked William for his report and to Mervyn Bannister for scrutinising the accounts, he again reinforced to the meeting that although we have money in the bank, as a committee we are fully aware of the responsibilities, and we must carefully mange this money to future proof the group. Although on paper it may look like we have surplus money , upkeep of the hall and the minibus would quickly use it, if we have any major jobs to do such as repairs to the roof, heating, toilets, electrics, replacement vehicle etc. had to be completed. William then updated the meeting on the work he has been undertaking, along with Joy Entwistle, as part of the 10th Scout Heritage Project. The goal of the Heritage Project is to catalogue the museum’s extensive archive collection, and to ultimately make it available to access online via the 10[th] ’s website. It is hoped that ex-members of the group, genealogists and local history enthusiasts will ultimately be able to access the archives to search for photographs, documents and information about the group’s activities, and to allow them to explore the history of the group since formation in 1908. William emphasised the Heritage Project is very much a ‘work in progress’ and stated that he hopes to have an open day in February 2027 to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of McMordie Hall where photographs, documents and memorabilia will be displayed to highlight the scale of the information contained in the archives. Election of members of the Executive Committee for the 2026-2027 year During the year Chris McElwee agreed to join the committee and all existing members of the committee, including Chris, confirmed they were prepared to stand for re-election. As per POR, Robert proposed all members to continue in their roles, and it was therefore agreed to re-elect all 9 current members the executive committee for the coming year. There being no further business the meeting closed at 8:10 p.m.