Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan Area Scout Council
In a break from previous reports by the Area
Commissioner and Area Chairman, this report will cover a period of 18 months. This will ensure the members of the Area, Local Authorities and members of the public who read the report, are up to date with the progress of the Area at the time of the report and that issues mentioned will not be out of date by six months. Future reports will be for the twelve month period from June to May. A major matter for the Area was the resignation of Bob Voisey as Area Treasurer at the beginning of 2011. Bob had taken over the role in October 2009 and we are grateful for his contribution during his tenure of office. Dominic Winfield has taken on the role and the Executive Committee were unanimous in their decision to appoint him until the AGM when the position will be up for nomination and election by members of the Scout Council. A sad piece of news is that Richard Davey has indicated he will not stand for re-election for the post of Area Secretary at the AGM for health reasons. Richard has been Secretary since 2008 and prior to that was the Area chairman. He has provided outstanding service to the Area and we will be sorry to lose him as secretary, although he has offered to work in a capacity that he can undertake in his own time. As Chairman I must congratulate and thank Richard Edwards who as you are aware took on the role of Area Commissioner officially in January 2010.
Richard embraced the role fully and has quickly come to grips with what is in effect a huge role with so many different facets. He is well supported by the members of the Area Team and he has taken some key decisions in relation to crucial appointments. In terms of the appointments the Area have been pleased to welcome Sue Ryan, AAC Cub Scouts; Neil Wicks, District Commissioner Afon District and Julian Jordan, District Commissioner Penarth District. The membership figures for the last year have again shown an encouraging increase in both the numbers of youth members and adults. The recruitment of adults both as leaders and administrators is crucial to the future success of Scouting in Cardiff and The Vale of Glamorgan and more focussed recruitment of suitable adults will be a key piece of work in the forthcoming year. There are so many people without whom Scouting would not be as successful in the Area as it currently is. To all of these we pay our very significant thanks, whether they work in a Group, District or the Area or whether or not they are in uniform makes no difference at all. It is through their actions and their continued involvement that Scouting in Cardiff and The Vale of Glamorgan is so successful.
Keith Burfoot Area Chairman
• The Beaver Scout Section has seen an increase in the uptake of the Welsh Beaver Scout Award and the Health Challenge Wales Badges. 30 Beaver Scouts were presented with the Bronze Chief Scout Award by the Lord Mayor, Keith Hyde, at The Mansion House; their visit coincided with a state visit by the Queen of Lesotho. • Cub Scout Badge Days involving almost 200 Cubs and 40 Leaders were held by Penarth, East and South and Afon Districts. 28 Cub Scouts were presented with the Silver Chief Scout Award by the Lord Mayor, Keith Hyde, at the Sport Council for Wales. • Members of all 3 Sections of the 1st Rhiwbina Scout Group (Afon District) took part in the Rotary Shelter Box Activities which raised awareness of Shelter Boxes for use in disaster areas around the world. • The Gang Show’s Mansion of Mystery performance was yet another great success and ticket sales increased substantially on the previous show. • Scout Post is now in its 27th year and again this year was highly successful in raising valuable funds for the groups taking part with stamp sales exceeding 750,000. • Penarth District successfully completed a full refit of PADSAC, their District Headquarters. The District has shown an impressive 18% growth in membership. • Another successful Annual Swimming Gala took place with more Scout Groups than ever taking part.
• The Vale District’s highlight of the year was a District camp at Jubilee Fields attended by over 200 members, Leaders and parents. • The Training team had another highly successful year with over 100 Leaders attending the Training Weekends in addition to the Modules run during the evening and the Open Evenings held for the validation of Modules. These continue to be well attended. • 45 Wood Badges were presented by the Training Team during the last 12 months. • The Scout shop continues to thrive with good sales every week and all Groups who support the shop receive a 10% commission based on purchases made in the name of the Group. • This year 14 people, aged between 16 and 25, have registered for the Millennium Volunteers scheme which is widely publicised. This is the 4th time the Area have supported the scheme. • The Lord Mayor’s Own Troop have been very active during the year and attended a total of 8 separate Civic occasions. The Troop now act as Mace Bearers at nearly all of the Civic events they attend. • Once again there has been a growth in membership of over 10% in East and South which has reflected a lot of hard work by all the Adult volunteers in the District. The District has continued to be active in providing a range of high quality programme of events, each tailored to meet the needs of individual Sections and Groups.
Youth Membership
For our sixth consecutive year we have increased our overall youth membership by 3.28%. All sections showed an increase, in particular the Explorer Scouts with a record increase of 20.75%.
Sectional Membership Youth membership spans from 6 to 25 years, enabling 19 years of Scouting. Most of our youth membership comes from our two youngest sections, Cubs (35.52%) and Beavers (29.00%).
Adults in Scouting The number of Adults in the Area has also increased this year by 5.65%, an increase of 38 since last years 672.
Area Membership Overall Area membership totals 3,672, up by 3.73% over last year. WELL DONE ALL!
Images showing some of the many activities that were carried out during 2010/2011.
A full set of our accounts can be obtained by contacting our Area Office or by visiting http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ and searching using our charity number 512034
Silver Wolf
Howard George Desmond - East and South District David Robert Gerrard - CATVOG Area Denis Keith Hunt - CATVOG Area Janet Helena Williams - Afon District
Silver Acorn “The following Awards and Decorations were recognised on St George‘s Day for outstanding and exceptional contributions made in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.”
Meriel Phyllis Cole - East and South District Martin David Evans - Barry District Kay Holmes - East and South District Stephen Andrew Holmes - East and South District Dr Nicholas Stuart Tudor Thomas - Penarth District Ray Shelton - East and South District