1st elwood scout group - 2010-11 annual report

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1st ELWOOD SCOUTS

1st Elwood Scout GroupAnnual Report, 2010 - 2011

15th August 2011


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1st Elwood Scout Group - 2010-11 Annual Report.doc Page ii August 15, 2011

CONTENTS

1. COMMITTEE PRESIDENT REPORT ................................................................................. 1

2. GROUP LEADERS REPORT ............................................................................................ 2

3. CUB REPORT .................................................................................................................... 8

4. SCOUT TROOP REPORT ................................................................................................. 8

5. RIA WARRAH ROVER REPORT ..................................................................................... 12

6. TREASURERS REPORT ................................................................................................ 15

Appendices

APPENDIX 2010-11 FINANCIAL DATA AND 2012 BUDGET


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1st Elwood Scout Group - 2010-11 Annual Report.doc Page 1 August 15, 2011

1. COMMITTEE PRESIDENT REPORT

Welcome to this Annual Report of 1st Elwood Scouts. Attached you will find the

Group Leader's Report together with an overview of the progress and fun times hadin Cubs, Scouts and Rovers this year, along with the Treasurer's Report.

We have had a great year with lots of activities being held which reinforce the

community spirit and sense of adventure in the children. We have also welcomed

many new members to our Group, and it is great that 1st Elwood is gaining a

reputation as a fun place to be. We are definitely starting to feel like an established

community group rather than a new starter!

The main objective of the Parent Committee over the coming year will be to support

the long term sustainability of 1st Elwood by deepening the relationships we have

made with parents to continue the work we do such as fund raising, managing the

Scout Hall, and applying for Grants. We will also be actively looking for more Cub

and Scout leaders.

We are also hoping to build upon the goodwill extended by parents and invite them

to consider joining the Parent Committee or involving themselves in support roles.

For our long term sustainability we need to establish a tradition whereby parents

willingly involve themselves in a role for one to two years during their child's Scouting

career. The best groups are the ones with the strongest parental support.

The current Parent Committee committed themselves for three years to ensure a

really strong start. We are very proud of what we have achieved in the past three

years, and we encourage and welcome new members so we can look to more

achievements in the future.

A huge thankyou to the rest of the Parent Committee, we have had lots of fun

evenings, shared some great wines, and banged a few thumbs renovating the hall!

It has been my absolute pleasure being President.

Maria Ballantyne

President, Group Parent Committee


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2. GROUP LEADERS REPORT

The year has been one of ups and downs for me as Group Leader. I contractedRoss River virus probably in late January, which has meant that I was not involved in

any Scouting activities from February till June and only now am I settling back into a

sensible Scouting routine. Maria Ballantyne was able to take over and/or delegate to

others the most important activities which I would normally have undertaken, into her

already very busy life. The rest of our very small Committee was also very helpful

and I thank them and the Leaders and Rovers all of whom were all extremely

understanding.

So, what has the Group been doing in the later part of 2010 and the first half of

2011?

Your Committee, made up of a very small number of dedicated people has made

major inroads into keeping the Group financially viable, using our most valuable

asset, the Scout Hall.


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During the December break, the hall floors were polished. This was paid for with a

combination of a Telstra grant (again, many thanks to Vincent Mumford) and the

proceeds of a raffle organized and run by Jamie Allpress and Martin Strode.

While I was ill, the committee took on the long overdue job of pulling out the old

kitchen and replacing it with a second hand kitchen. Dean Hanneysee and Maria

Ballantyne were the driving forces behind this, but all Committee members were

heavily involved as well as some other parents and leaders. Marlene sourced the

kitchen about 1 year ago! To all involved, I thank you! I was out of action at that

time. The Kitchen floor and remaining, outstanding items will be completed before

the end of the year. Those involved needed a break or in Deans case were involved

in renovating the Hanneysee home! Mark Richardson and Greg Evans are busy

sourcing bats and heaters, so no children will freeze during the very cold winter! In

the meantime our Scout activity Leader, Tony Case has split a large amount of wood

to feed the fire.

Meanwhile, Mark Samuel-King has been answering those many phone calls and has

let the hall to numerous Community Groups. His ardent work has given us the

income which now enables the Group to survive and enables me to have less

sleepless nights. Even further in the background is Nick Frencken, such an

essential cog in the wheel, who sends out the invoices not only to your families, but

to our tenants. He has also just won a major victory over AGL, who sent us a gas

bill which went back to before we even reformed the Group!! He managed to have

this bill reduced from almost $700.00 to NIL!! Another reason to celebrate tonight!

I thank these tireless Committee members (Maria Ballantyne, Mark Richardson, Nick

Frencken, Greg Evans, Mark Samuel-King and Anthony Lucas) who work to anamazing running sheet instigated by Maria and Mark and make life so much easier

for me generally.

Anthony Lucas has taken over the running of the website. I am now greeted with

drop boxes as I open my computer! If you havent been online recently, please try

to make time to visitwww.elwoodscouts.asn.auto see what your children have been

doing, or will do in the future. Numerous other people have already.
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It is important for the Elwood Scouting Group to develop relationships within the

Community. Contact has been made with Stay Tuned Wellness Centre in Ormond

Rd and the Group has signed an agreement with them, which you will hear more

about in the coming months. We already have a different type of agreement with

Wine Box Warehouse, owned by Tim and Angie Figdor (Gretas parents). We urge

you all to drink more wine, but also to stay healthy, thus helping your Scout Group!

Our Group is about Scouting and enabling your children and the Rovers to enjoy

quality programs. Without the Committee this could not occur.

The Section Leaders and the Rover Crew Leader have all written detailed reports. I

will briefly cover the highlights of the last financial year, which was a year where

Scouting activities were in conflict with Melbournes weather. An unseasonal

downpour last November made the annual family picnic (with canoeing) a very wet

affair. The Elwood Village Fiesta was almost washed out in its first 5 minutes. Two

hours later the downpour stopped and the sun came out!


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Cubs, which now has no Assistant Leaders, has been ably run by Marlene Gale

(Akela) and Warwick Lindsay (Wok), with Vincent Mumford (Jack and Rubys dad)

taking on the role of Adult support from early this year. Possibly the highlight this

year for the Cubs was the Master Chef night, won by Genevieve, Charlotte, Allegra

and Greta, but with amazing performances by all teams! Thank you to all our

judges, who not only represented District Scouting, but also the Elwood RSL and

Port Phillip Council. The recent Pack holiday held at Mount Martha and attended by

19 cubs, ran a close second. However, there have been some other great activities.

All cubs attended a District Flight day late last year, gaining their flying badges. Last

September, 4 Cubs attended the Cuboree and 2 Cubs will attend again this year,

before the event again reverts to being held every 3 years. Marlene gives up her

own holidays to attend with the Cubs.

There have been numerous sleepovers, one held at the Observatory and a District

Sixer and Seconds Leadership week-end, as well as the yearly Billy Cart Derby.

Photos show great fun at the Snow Night, Beach Nights, the visit of the snake man

to a joint Cubs/Scout night and the Great Shave (hair colouring), where money was

raised for the Leukemia foundation. The Beach Night was also featured in the Scout

magazine.

Scouts, run by Mark Starcevich, now boasts 17 members. The other members of

the Scout team include Tony Case, Scout Activities Support and Lynette Romagnesi


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(Marcus and Jasons mother) in the role of adult support. 2011 saw the re-

introduction of girls to our Scouting section. There are now 6 girls and they will

obviously have great impact!

I am delighted to see more of the Cubs linking into Scouts and taking on the

challenges that section provides.

The Scout section caters for young people from approximately 11 to 15 years old,

working in patrols. Their program shows interesting and varied activities ranging

from camping, hiking, rogaining, outdoor cooking, bike-riding, community visits (such

as to the police station), canoeing and kayaking as well as just having fun! From

recent photos, I see that they have been involved with some comparatively complex

first-aid issues.

I was so pleased (when out walking) to see a group of Elwood Scouts out on a

Sunday morning, involved in the local Clean up Australia campaign. I am also

delighted that there have been several Cub-Scout joint meetings. It is important that

all Sections are not too segregated and our young people relate to one another.

The Rover section has been extremely active throughout the year as can be seen by

visiting their website, which has a link from 1st Elwoods site. It is good to see their

numbers increasing as their direction becomes more defined. I am pleased to see

them take on Greenhouse Games, so please help if they approach your family.

Due to water ingress into their Den, they are not meeting there at this time. The

Group (managed by Mark Richardson) has made alterations to the Den gutters, so

they will not build up and overflow in heavy rains. A whirligig has been installed to

improve ventilation of the roof space and I know the Rovers have plans to develop

the inside of the Den.

We should perhaps be looking to the future and seriously considering starting a

Venturer Section (14.5 to 18 years old). Young people from this Section could join

the Rover Group and possibly take on future leadership roles at 1st Elwood. Talking

of Leaders, if 1st Elwood is to succeed as a Scout Group, there must be more

leaders to share the task of bringing the FUN of Scouting to all children. It is

essential also that the work undertaken by the Committee be shared by others. I ask


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all of the parent body to consider how they (or others you may know) could help 1st

Elwood Scout Group? Without some type of input the Group will not continue---

I will happily talk to any of you about even the smallest bit of time you can spare or

ideas you may have.

I have already thanked all Committee members, but would like to reiterate my thanks

to Committee President, Maria Ballantyne. Many thanks also to our leaders and

adult support, Marlene, Vincent, Mark, Tony, Lynette, and Warwick (Wok), who I am

sad to say, you will not see so often anymore. To all parents who have helped us

over the year, my heartfelt thanks also. Without these dedicated people, there would

not be a 1st Elwood Scout Group.

Jennifer Eaton

Group Leader, 1st Elwood Scouts


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3. CUB REPORT

Starting back at 3rd term 2010 saw us preparing for Cuboree, with 6 cubs registered

to attend. District badge day was very successful, with all cubs attending attaining

badges they otherwise would not have achieved. Billy-cart Derby was a great

challenge for our Cubs, though we didnt win, a great day was had by all (we look

forward to a much better prepared cub pack for this years Derby). Halloween was a

great fun night of dress ups, games, challenges and of course Halloween supper

As 2010 was drawing to a close, we took advantage of daylight saving and visited

the penguins at St Kilda. Unfortunately we didnt do as well at the Elwood street fair

as we had last year as the evening started off very wet and windy, resulting in adown-turn in visitors to the street; though the day was wet our spirit wasnt

dampened. We look forward to a more profitable day this year.

We ended 2010 with a flight day at Moorabbin Airport with all cubs having a 20

minute flight over Cheltenham and out over the bay. Cubs were taken on a tour of

the aircraft museum and sat in the flight simulator and a very successful lunch was

cooked and served by Warwick - an altogether great day.

2011 opened with a very full and exciting 1st term, day light sawing and warm

weather took us down to Elwood beach for games and a talk on water and surf

safety by the Elwood life saving team. Putting up tents in the back yard and doing

outdoor cooking was all part of our 1st term Outdoor theme.

We held a Mother and Cub night where Cubs learnt to iron and fold a T shirt and iron

and roll their scarfs, the Cubs then served supper.

Snake-night with the Scouts was an enlightening and exiting (though a little scary for

our mums) evening which was thoroughly enjoyed by Cubs and Scouts alike.

A sleepover at Science Works was a fantastic experience and spectacular event with

much excitement among the Cubs.

Our annual Leukaemia foundation night organized by Warwick was again very

colourful with the great coloured hair spray, the Cubs had a great time with thisevent, and this year raised over $800 for Leukaemia support.


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1st term was coming to a close on a higher than high note with our Junior Master

Chef excitement gaining momentum, this was a fun but serious event, with Cubs

teams joining to prepare a main meal and dessert for our high profile judges, DC Tim

and wife Julie, Councillor Jane and RSL Pres Rep Lena. Our final winners by a very

small margin were Charlotte, Genevieve, Greta and Allegra, all well rewarded for

their efforts with a Junior Master Chef cook book. Close 2nd were Oliver, Charlie and

Luke, all Cubs received a participation award and all got their cooking badge.

Following this, we wound up the term with a night at Dingley mini-golf course

followed by a supper of hot cross buns and an Easter egg.

We started term 2 with a film night for the Mums, based on last years Cuboree,

where 6 cubs attended. This was also designed to promote Cuboree 2011.

With Safety and First Aid being our theme for 2nd term we organized a visit with

Ann from Scout First aid, she gave them a talk on 1st aid and a CPR demo on the

Annie mannequins. Cubs found attempting this it a little harder than it looks. Fire

lighting and fire safety was our last test prior to preparing for our pack holiday at Bay

Park Mount Martha. This Pack holiday weekend was also a going up ceremony for

4 of our oldest Cubs. We concluded the term with a break-up at Olympic Ice-skating

Centre.


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I would like to thank Warwick for his untiring input into assisting to run the Cub pack

over the past 3 years, also all his work on putting notices etc. on the web-site,

preparing parent rosters, tracking Cubs achievements for their boomerang awards,

preparing and serving dinning at 6er and 2nd meetings, running the film night and

leukaemia night.

Without Warwicks assistance our Cubs section would have been in serious trouble.

We have however been very fortunate in having Vincent stepping into the job of

adult support and thus take over the work that entails all the internet activity set-up

by Warwick. Along with Vincent I would like to thank all the parents that attend Cubs

on their Rostered nights. Parent input is most vital to our cub section. I do however

look forward to some new leadership during the coming year, thus giving me the

opportunity to give our Cubs more quality Cubbing.

Yours in Cubbing,

Marlene Gale

AKELA


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4. SCOUT TROOP REPORT

An opportunity to reflect on the past year reminds me of the enjoyment we have

shared as the Scout Troop has changed, grown and developed from July last year.

We have seen some Scouts leave but have seen a greater number arrive, both from

outside the Scouting movement and making the step up from Cubs. We started the

Scout year with 10 Scouts and we currently have 17 Scouts with 9 coming from

Cubs.

The Troop has been busying both at the Hall and on activities, some of which are

listed below:

Cohen Shield in September 2010. Our Scouts achieved GOLD this year.

Gilweroo Camp in Nov 2010. Some were suggesting that this was the best

camp!

Snake Night with the Cubs Mar 2011. So many snakes!

Canoeing at Lilydale Lake in Mar 2011. Good fun on the water.

Somers Shield in May 2011. Not as cold as last year but we survived a big

wet spell.

Cub & Scout Camp June 2011. Cubs going up at Bay Park Great

Occasion!


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Over the last 12 months, I was able to relax a bit with a bit more experience in the

role of leader and was ably supported by Tony Case as our activities leader and

Lynette Romagnesi as our parent helper. We have also enjoyed the participation

and support of parents at the Hall on a roster.

The Scout Troop is a part of a wider organisation and I appreciate the work of the

other sections of the Group including our Group Leader Jenny Eaton who works

throughout the year and the Group Committee who work in the background but have

worked miracles on the Hall floor and kitchen. My thanks also to parents for their

support and assistance with a special mention to Anthony Lucas our new

Webmaster.

Yours in Scouting

Mark Starcevich

Scout Leader


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5. RIA WARRAH ROVER REPORT

Weve had such an exciting and action-packed year!

To keep this report short Ive decided to do as much of it in dot point as I can.

Major Activities and camps partaken in:

MARB Out of the Toy Box

October Camp

End of year trip to Sydney

Surfmoot

ANZAC Camp

Squire Training Camp

Membership details:

July 1st 2010 8 registered members

2 members left the crew

3 members have joined the crew

Few potential members that are yet to sign on the dotted line due to Year 12

June 30th 2011 9 awesome registered members

We renovated our den in October 2010 but are currently fundraising to fix it up again

due to water damage.

We also held fundraisers including the Scout Raffle and seeing Harry Potter and theDeathly Hallows Part 1 (in November 2010) and Part 2 (in July 2011).


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We also had individuals undertake other positions in Scouting. Some of them have

been in these positions for a while but I think its important to highlight their

involvement in the wider movement:

Cub leader

Joey leader

Scout leader

Branch Rover Council Training Officer

Branch Air Activities Activity Leader

Melbourne Region Rover Community Leadership Team Secretary, Treasurer

and Development Officer

Hoadley Hide

If I have forgotten anything I apologize.

We also have a number of crew members undertaking their BP Award which is great

to see.

As a crew, we have really grown to become a family and that is really important in

functioning effectively. We have high goals for the next 12 months so hopefully

youll get even more dot points in next years report!

Id like to personally thank the Crew for all their efforts this year in getting back on

track and also to the Group for their assistance.

Yours in Rovering,

Rachael Boyd

Crew Leader


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6. TREASURERS REPORT

The Group Treasurer collates all Section and Group accounts, and under Scout

Association rules, arranges for an independent audit of the finances of the Group.

The audited information (Income/Expenses sheet and Budget) is attached. The

detailed Transactions Sheet is available on request.

The 1st Elwood Group has its financial year from 1 July to 30 June. This year is the

first year that a surplus ($4814.65) has been posted since the Group was restarted.

Group financial situation:

- $6,270.09 in credit at start of 2010/11 year.

- $11,084.74 at 30 June 2011.

- $6,975.65 in credit at bank as at 14 Aug 2011.

Main Expenses. The major expenses this year have been the usual mandatory

insurance costs (kids, leaders and Hall), hall maintenance and hall polishing.

Hall Floor Polishing. The hall floor was sanded and polished to the delight of the

members and hall hirers at a cost of $2327. This was the best price that the

committee could arrange.

Hall Kitchen. The new kitchen has been installed and although the kitchen and

stove were obtained for small cost, there were incidental costs for installation items

and gas and electrical trades.

Gas Bill. A gas bill of nearly $700 was issued during the year, even though very

little gas was used. Negotiations with the gas supplier and the ombudsman had

resulted in the bill being cancelled.

Improved Income. This financial year, there has been an improvement in the

income of the Group, mostly through increased hall hire, and also increased grants

and fundraising.


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Budget 2011-12. For the new financial year 2011-2012, the main expenses will

continue to be insurance and hall maintenance. Some budgeted items include hall

heating, skylights, rotten window repair, refurbishment of the front appearance and a

replacement equipment shed.

The Treasurer would like to acknowledge the important work of Auditor Michael Land

who has kept the Treasurer on his toes and, as a past Scout, has generously

provided his services free of charge for the last 3 years.

In conclusion, it is noted that, to sustain a healthy financial position, it will be

important to maintain a strong effort in encouraging and managing hall hire income

and fund raising, for the benefit of the Scouts, Cubs and Rovers of the 1st Elwood

Scout Group.

Dominic (Nick) Frencken

1st Elwood Group Treasurer


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e:\miscellaneous\scouts\1st elwood scout group - 2010-11 annual report.doc

Appendix : 15 August 2011

Appendix 1 - 2010-11 Statement & 2012 Budget


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e:\miscellaneous\scouts\1st elwood scout group - 2010-11 annual report doc

1st elwood scout group - 2010-11 annual report

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