Thirty-five
members attended the AGM at Gummy’s.
Before the business, the DC presented Geraldine Hayllar with a 25-year
Service badge and certificate. He also
invested three new members of the District Team – Chris Sturdy (Deputy District
Commissioner), Dave King (District Explorer Scout Commissioner) and Jo Grover (District
Cub Scout Leader).
The
Treasurer explained that the District had made a small loss in 2012-13 and that
it would be necessary to increase the capitation fee in 2014. The Executive would need to look at what the
reserves should be, to comply with Charity Commission rules and Groups would be
advised of the new rates by October this year.
Vince Mitchell had agreed to return as Treasurer and was thanked for
undertaking this task again.
The
DC expressed his thanks to all for their contribution to the running of the
District. The District Team is expanding
and moving forward with new roles in the team.
There is much to do. Philip Cox
is overseeing development, in the light of the large number of new houses being
built in the area. We need to
concentrate on the recruitment and retention of adults, as the continued
attraction of Scouting to young people is more than satisfactory. Fund-raising, the cultivation of the media
and development are all important and we need to ensure that we present
ourselves to adults who are not currently involved in a way which is attractive.
Our efforts must be to show that we are not asking for a Mission Impossible but
is
…….. Mission Doable…….
Under
Any Other Business, the Chairman explained the situation with regard to the
Christ’s Hospital Group, which had been one of the oldest and one of the
largest in the County . It become clear
that its delivery of Scouting was disappearing and regretfully there had been
no alternative to deregistration. As the
Group’s assets now revert to the District, there is a substantial amount of
equipment, including 2 trailers. Some repairs are necessary to the
tentage. More importantly, a large sum
of money, amounting to some £39,000, donated by an Old Blue, reverts to
District funds. The Executive intends to
very carefully assess how this unexpected windfall can be utilised to the
maximum benefit for Scouting in the
Horsham Districts. As the Christ
Hospital Group was, for the major part of its existence, within the old single Horsham District it is appropriate
that any benefit should not be
restricted to Weald.
The District website is available but the
contact details for each group and unit need to be kept up to date. A request
for details will be circulated to GSLs.
The
Chairman presented Bill Williams with a framed certificate of appreciation for
over 50 years’ service to Scouting, a large part of which was to the Horsham and
Horsham Weald Districts. This was
greeted with prolonged applause.
The
meeting was addressed by Mike Wakeling, the Deputy County Commissioner, who was
pleased to say that Explorers and Network were growing in the County and that
over 80 adults had joined in the last year.
He emphasised that back-up for GSLs is readily available from the County
Team.
A
request was made to ensure that all members check and amend their personal
details held on the Scout Association database to ensure a smooth transfer to
the Compass database that will be introduced in 2014.
The
District website can be found on:
