The 1st Wargrave Scout Group Annual General Meeting for the year to 31st March 2016 took place on Saturday May 21st at the Family Camp, which was held at the Youlbury Scout Activity Centre near Oxford. Twenty three people were present, including the DSL, GSL and representatives of the Leaders and the Exec Committee.
Group Scout Leader’s Report – Pete Fry
This year, the Group has had a more outward-looking focus; we have attended many more District events. The Cubs were very successful in the District shooting competition, coming in 1st place and the Scout Troop won the Big Camp weekend last year. All sections have undertaken a lot more badge work, which is evident by the rise in badge expenditure in the accounts.
We held another great Xmas Show in December where Nathan Walsh was awarded his Gold Scout award, our first Gold Award in Wargrave for many years. On Monday this week, at Scouts Thomas Hicks will also receive his Gold Scout award.
Pete expressed his thanks to the Leadership team. He thanked Neil, Emma and Peung for taking over the Beaver colony when Clare moved to the USA last summer. The Pumas need more Leaders; Fiona is managing on her own at present which is not satisfactory. Pete W has taken over the role of Scout Leader and Nige had a great time when he led the Berkshire contingent to the Jamboree in Japan last summer. We need to (as ever) recruit more people to help in the Group as a whole. Articles are going into the Wargrave News every month now to keep the Group’s profile raised, but we need to be able to reassure people that it does not need to be a full-time commitment; any help or involvement on a regular (or semi-regular) basis will always be appreciated.
Treasurer’s Report – Janet Moseley
The Scout Group continues on a sound financial footing. The accounts show an increase in total Group monetary assets over the year, from £23,000 to over £26,000. During the year we transferred £10,000 to an interest-bearing 60-day notice account with CAF Bank. Much of the increased total is due to fundraising and payments for the Finland Camp later this summer, and it will be reduced substantially after the summer.
Membership subs received were very similar to the previous year, and we received £860 in tax refund under the Gift Aid scheme. Subs paid to the District, County and Scout Association were higher at £4,256, but these will reduce slightly next year due to lower membership at the Census date (31st January). Collection of subs has been facilitated this year by the adoption of a direct debit system, which has greatly eased Pennie’s sterling work chasing late payers.
Fund-raising continued strongly, with £2,400 collected on the gates at the Village Firework Display, and £820 surplus on the refreshments. Revenue from hire of the Scout HQ continued to be high at £2,165 – thanks to Sarah Ayel for coordinating this. Two Easter Egg Hunts fell into the 2015/16 financial year: although planned as break-even activities, these made a joint surplus of £825, which has been allocated to the Finland Fund. The Village Festival Fete tea tent made £450 for general funds, and the Scouts’ stall raised £740, which has been allocated to the Finland Fund. Christmas Post income continued steadily at just under £300.
Once again, expenditure on general section activities totalled about £1,200 during the year: this included the weekly meetings, and any District or other weekend events. On top of this, a record £860 was spent on badges, reflecting the continued emphasis on badge work. Income for camps (£2,700) appears to exceed expenditure (£2,000), but this is misleading as the income includes £1,200 of deposits for this summer’s Finland Camp. In reality, camps have been subsidised by the Group by about £550.
We replaced several of our tents last year, spending £1,200 on three 8-person tents (patrol tents) and two 4-person tents, and £200 on an ‘events shelter’.
The Nearly Christmas Show was repeated last December as a charity fundraiser, and we were able to donate £250 to Daisy’s Dream.
The accounts have been independently examined as required by the Charity Commission. Simon Smith proposed them and Liz Tawse seconded.
Minutes of the 2015-16 Annual General Meeting (PDF file).
2015-16 Annual Reports for the Beavers, Cubs and Scout sections (PDF Files).