1st ELWOOD SCOUTS

1st Elwood Scout Group

Annual Report, 2010 - 2011

15th August 2011

CONTENTS
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. COMMITTEE PRESIDENT REPORT................................................................................. 1 GROUP LEADERS REPORT ............................................................................................ 2 CUB REPORT .................................................................................................................... 8 SCOUT TROOP REPORT ................................................................................................. 8 RIA WARRAH ROVER REPORT ..................................................................................... 12 TREASURERS REPORT ................................................................................................ 15

Appendices
APPENDIX 2010-11 FINANCIAL DATA AND 2012 BUDGET

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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 had in 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 LE ADERS REPORT

The year has been one of ups and downs for me as Group Leader. I contracted Ross 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 an amazing 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 visit www.elwoodscouts.asn.au to 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 reintroduction 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 a down-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 this event, 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.

RI A W ARRAH 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 the Deathly 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.

TRE ASURERS 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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Appendix 1 -

2010-11 Statement & 2012 Budget

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