It is with thanks to Almighty God for all His goodness that the Executive deliver this report on our activities during 2008/9 session.
We would like to express our thanks to all our Officers and Instructors who week by week work with the Boys in our Battalion under ever increasing distractions to the main aims of our Organisation. We appreciate the loyalty and hard work which goes into each Company and each Section during the session which has just passed. The Executive would also acknowledge those who have carried out duties at Battalion and NID level and thank them for a job well done.
Our Battalion numbers show a slight decrease of 29. While our overall numbers are not dropping as rapidly as the B.B.(UK) overall we need to look carefully at our recruitment procedures and be positive in our attempts to bring more Boys into our Companies. We are not growing and attracting Boys into our Companies where we are able to fulfil our Lord's command that we go and teach His word to all. The Roy McCune Cup for all Company work and the Fitzell Cup for Junior Section work were both won by 8th Carrickfergus Company. In the Scripture Exam our entry numbers have continued to decline and several companies who entered did not return their exam papers in one case because they thought the questions were too hard. We had only 10 Companies competing and these numbers suggest that the Executive and the Company Section Council need to look at this aspect of our work. Our Christian Education and Church Relations Committee are carrying out a review and to that end are sending out questionnaires regarding the provision of Christian Education within each section of our Companies. Captains and Leaders in charge are encouraged to fill these forms in and return them promptly to Rathmore. We have a new Training and Development Officer appointed, Mr Kenneth McLaughlin, and he is keen to help advance this cause. We would like to congratulate all the Boys who won awards at our recent Examination.
Our other Battalion activities continued with our usual programme of activities. At NID level congratulations are due to 3rd Carrickfergus Drill Squad on being Runners-up in the Drill competition and to1st Ballyclare who won the N.I Masterteam competition and finished as runners-up in the Brigade Final.. Our Battalion footballers are to be congratulated on winning the Junior Inter- Battalion NID competition.
Our Junior section activities have gone ahead as usual and we report that 1st Raloo won the Figure Marching, 1st Larne won the Quiz Kids and the 5-a-side football competition and 1st Kilbride won the Uni-hoc competition. Special mention must be made of our Boys success in the Junior Section Young Musician competition where Matthew Edgar of 8th Carrick came second, Sam Brodison of 1st Mullaghdubh came 3rd and Oliver Watson of 8th Carrick was highly commended. Congratulations to these boys and we hope they continue to develop their musical expertise.
We congratulate 2nd Carrick Anchor Boys on winning the Battalion heat of the Fun & Games competition. In the colouring competition Leighton Moore of 1st Larne won the P1/P2 section and Cameron Elmes of 2nd Carrick won the P3/P4 section.
The members of the Executive have visited a number of Companies during the session and have been impressed with the work being carried out at Company level. In some cases a few very dedicated officers who have been working very hard to give the boys a varied programme. We commend all who are working at this level. There are however two other levels of Boys' Brigade work at Battalion and at NID levels. We need officers to take responsibility for the work of the Battalion by attending the Section Council meetings and acting on the various committees. It is not fair to leave the workings of the various sections to the same few people. Please play YOUR part in the work of the Battalion.
A number of years ago our First Battalion President J.W. Sandford, M.B.E, J.P. left a bequest to the Battalion to give some financial assistance to young Officers seeking to undertake training, usually over and above the YLT course. The Executive would consider requests from such young Officers on an individual basis where the request has been made prior to the training having been undertaken.
This is a sad time for us as our President, Mr. Brian Smyth, steps down from his position as President after a term of 6 years. Brian has been an Officer for 57 years and has been Lieutenant and Captain in 1st Greenisland Company then becoming Secretary of the Battalion, a post he held for 35 years, before becoming our President in 2002. Brian has given the Battalion devoted service over all his years in the area and we wish him and his wife Margaret a happy retirement and that they both can now enjoy seeing their grandchildren growing up. We also say goodbye to another long serving Captain from the Greenisland area as Stewart Dickson steps down as Captain of 1st Greenisland Company. Stewart was Leader-in-Charge of the Junior Section and then Company Captain for over 35 years. We also wish him a long and happy retirement.
The Executive hope that those going to camp or on holiday have a pleasant time and are able to develop their relationships with their boys. We wish all Officers a time of rest and recharging of our batteries both physically and spiritually as we seek to prepare ourselves to labour in our Master's service in the new session.
For and on behalf of the Executive,
Frank Picton
Battalion Secretary
