Annual Report - Secretary's Report

ANNUAL REPORT ()

Executive Report 2011

It is with thanks to our great Captain and Saviour for all His blessings upon the Battalion that we present this report.

Our Battalion numbers have continued to be fairly steady and over the past decade our numbers have actually grown in that period. This is certainly going against the trends observed in other areas of the within the United Kingdom and it must be in no small measure due to the hard work and diligence put in week by week by the Officers and helpers. Your work and planning of programmes which are attractive to boys has helped the Battalion prosper.

As can be seen we have halted a decline in numbers over the past 4 years and it is imperative that we provide an attractive and challenging programme for the Boys in our care so that they can help bring other boys into our Companies. Let's commit ourselves to the challenge of getting 125 more recruits in the Battalion in the next 2 sessions as we look forward to celebrating 125 years of Boys' Brigade in Northern Ireland in 2013.

Company work is the bedrock of Boys' Brigade but there are other activities at Battalion, N.I.D. and National level which if not carried out would make it so difficult to offer varied and challenging programmes to the boys in our care. Every couple of years there is the opportunity to propose names of officers for positions on a number of NID committees which allow the Battalion an influential voice at Regional level. Several members have completed their allocation of 2 x 3 year sessions and need to be succeeded. Our Battalion Executive (and consequently our Section Councils) has had the same faces for the past 4 years with several others having completed 10 years service. This is becoming an unfair burden on these folk who have given unselfishly of time and effort to serve your needs in the Battalion. We all need to share the workload around and have a plan of succession so that no one feels overwhelmed by the duties being placed upon them. Please help us keep the Battalion as successful in the next 10 years as it has been in the past decade.

The Executive have reviewed their numbers and decided we should have a young officer position on the Executive to come from any section. In line with the national arrangements of seeking to have officers under the age of 30 involved in the running of Brigade matters we will be bringing a proposal to the Battalion AGM that a position be made available for an officer under 30 years of age to be elected to the Executive. We have already got a young officer serving us on the Northern Ireland Regional committee.

Battalion events and competitions have continued as normal. The McCune and Fitzell cups were won by 8th Carrickfergus. We would congratulate Logan Cowie of 1st Larne and Sam Lyle of 1st Raloo on winning the 2 sections of the Anchor Boys colouring competition and congratulations to 1st Ballylinney on winning the Anchor Boy Fun & Games competition. In Junior Section events the Figure Marching was won by 1st Larne, who also won the Quiz Kids, Uni-Hoc and 5-a-side football, the Stoolball was won by 1st Carrickfergus and Joseph Parkes of 6th Carrickfergus won the Young Musician of the Year competition. The combined Junior Section and Anchor Boy Quiz Night took place in Ballyclare Presbyterian Church and the church was well filled with enthusiastic boys as we remembered and praised the birth of our Saviour. Company Section events continued and in the C.E. Exam despite quite low numbers entering some very good performances were achieved. We were blessed with good weather for our Battalion Church Parade to Gardenmore Church in Larne. We had 300 boys and officers on parade led by 3 very good bands. Our service was very good and it was great to see the church so well filled. The only disappointing thing was the lack of PSNI presence to help with traffic control on the parade to church.

This year we say farewell to several stalwarts in our Battalion. Neil McAllister is standing down as Sports Convenor after a decade of service on the Sports Committee with 7 of these being as convenor. During this time Neil has brought in new competitions to keep the sporting challenge before companies and we say a big 'thank you' to him for all the hard work he put into the task he was given. We hope he finds fulfilment as he seeks to spend more time with the boys in his own company.

Margaret Scott is retiring as Captain of 3rd Ballyclare. Margaret has over 30 years of service in the company and took over the role of Captain on the sudden death of Staffy Duncan. Her faithful service to Company and church will be recognised by her church at the end of the session. We hope she finds peace and rest as she relinquishes her role in BB.

Stephen Lindsay is stepping down as Battalion Training Officer due to church and business pressures. We are glad he is continuing in his role as Captain of 1st Carrickfergus. The Executive would like to thank him for his efforts in the Battalion, especially his revamping of the Skills course for those boys preparing for their President's Badge, and on the NID Training Committee.

Our Battalion Secretary, Frank Picton, is stepping down from his position to take up the role of Treasurer in his church. He has served over 40 years in the Battalion as an officer in 2nd Carrickfergus, founding Captain of 6th Carrickfergus and latterly as secretary to the Battalion. We thank him for all his efforts and pray God's blessing on him as he takes up a new sphere of service in his church.

The Executive would like to thank all those who have fulfilled posts at Battalion and NID level, to thank all officers and helpers for their dedicated support throughout the session and to wish everyone a refreshing break and for those attending camp or holiday weekends we hope you have a safe and rewarding experience.

I present this report on behalf of the Battalion Executive,

___________________________________________ Date ________________________

Frank Picton

Battalion Secretary