Annual Report 2005

The Viking Cub Pack had closed in December and as Stuart was unable to attend the meeting, he had sent a letter and Gill read this out, a copy of which is attached. Gill added that the Group has to look to the future and it still has a very successful Beaver & Cub pack. Another Cub pack and a Scout pack would be wonderful and she once again appealed for help to set these up. Any new leaders would be given as much support as possible and the Executive Committee needed more volunteers:

Dear All,

Firstly my apologise for not attending your AGM, I did not think it was appropriate at this time, but I thank you for allowing this letter to be read out.

As you are aware there is now only one Cub Pack in Laxey, the decision to resign my warrant was not taken lightly and was in fact one of the hardest decisions that I have ever had to make. I will not go into the full details of the circumstances that lead to my resignation, as I do not feel that it will accomplish anything.

I had hoped that a new leader could be found and as none of the other assistant leaders wished to take on the role, it was with great sadness that 1st Laxey Viking Cub Pack closed it’s doors on 18th December 2004.

Since taking on the role some five years ago I have enjoyed the time that I had spent with Laxey Scout Group. There are many many happy memories that will stay with me, far too many to recount at this time. From meetings on a Wednesday to Cub Camps, Island Competitions [which we won on many occasions] to the friendships that I built up with not only leaders in Laxey but Island wide but also the one thing that made it all worthwhile was the children. I hope that the girls and boys that joined my pack got as much out of being a Cub Scout as I did. To see the joy and happiness when a Cub achieved anything from being able to complete a hike or receive a badge or medal or just to be part of the pack gave me the inspiration to try even harder to make the pack bigger and stronger.

To be able to deliver what is necessary for the pack to be the best it could be was not just down to me. The running of the Pack was always a team effort and I could not of done it without the hard work of all the assistant leaders who supported me.

Another part of the team, often not recognised was the parents. Their help over the years was often overlooked, again without the help that was given, be it helping with a night hike, cooking at one of the camps or assisting on a Wednesday would of made my job extremely difficult if not impossible.

When I announced my resignation I could not of predicted the amount of support that I was afforded by both Leaders and Parents. At the final meeting I was overwhelmed by the kindness of not only the amount of people who came along but by your generosity of cards and gifts, for that would you accept my sincere thanks.

Finally I would like to thank, and in no particular order some special people, Allan Teare, John Slark, Celia Marshall, Ann Atkinson, Les Postlethwaite, Martin Caley, Nick Kinrade, Mark Bradley, Pauline Golding, Frank Vaughan, Julia Trace, Tanya Sanderson, Suzy Holland, Kath Andrews, Ginny Treanor, Gill Churcher, Julie Cretney, Claire Ashton, Sharon Cheeseman and someone who has supported me throughout my leadership, my wife, Debbie. A huge thanks to you all.

Kindest Regards
Stuart Bridson