It is with thanks to Almighty God for all His goodness to us that the Executive deliver this report on our activities during 2006/7 session.
We would like to express our thanks to all our Officers and Leaders 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 has gone 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 numbers are slightly down this session from a total of 1805 last session to 1800 this session. The number of Boys rose from 1580 to 1592 but the number of Officers/Helpers fell from 225 down to 208. With 8 new Officers enrolled this session we have lost 25 Officers/Helpers during this past session. A former National Director of the Boys' Brigade in N. Ireland stated that the demise of the B.B. would not be through the lack of numbers of boys but by the lack of suitable Officers. We hope and pray that we are not seeing this starting to happen. Please be encouraging to each other as we seek to serve God through our Officer-ship in this great organisation.
It is with sadness we have to report the resignations as Captains of William Payne of 1st Carrickfergus and John Cathcart of 2nd Carrickfergus. Both have served their churches and the Battalion as Officer and Captain for many years and we would wish them and their families many years of happy retirement. We are pleased that Stephen Lindsay has agreed to undertake the Captain's position in 1st Carrickfergus.
We have just completed the first session with a new format for our Section Council meetings. While there has been a small increase in the numbers attending, much less than we had hoped, those who have attended appeared to have enjoyed the friendship and the activities which we have undertaken as a group each time. We would wish to continue this format for the coming session.
In our Battalion competitions we congratulate 8th Carrickfergus Company on winning the Roy McCune Cup and 1st Kilbride Company Junior Section on winning the Fitzell Cup. This was the first time that the Fitzell Cup had been won by a Company from outside the Carrickfergus area. In our Christian Education Exam the numbers entered were down from 305 to 250 with only 13 companies compared with 15 last year. We had 27 boys who qualified for a prize and we would congratulate 3rd Carrickfergus on winning the William Fitzell Cup for the highest average score. We have almost 500 boys enrolled in the Company/Senior Sections which means that only 50% of the boys are being challenged to sit the Exam. We realise that over the past couple of years the Northern Ireland District have been late in getting the Bible Class material out to companies and changing the format of the course and would ask all Captains and Chaplains to consider making the NID Christian Education programme an integral part of their Bible Class and working with the boys to advance Christ's Kingdom. Captains should also be reminded that the Frank Dennis cup is open to ALL boys who have completed stage 3. This means that the older boys can be encouraged to enter the exam. It is not really just a stage 4 exam.
Our different Sections continue to run their own events and the Executive would like to thank those companies who offered to host these events. At Anchor Boy level the Executive would congratulate 8th Carrickfergus and 1st Ballylinney companies on winning the different age group competitions. The Anchor Boy Fun and Games competition was won by 1st Ballyclare. At Junior Section level we hosted the swimming gala in Larne and all who assisted in the running of the gala are to be congratulated on producing a grand occasion. 1st Larne won both the Quiz Kids and 5-a-side football competitions while the Figure Marching was won by 8th Carrickfergus. A special mention must be made of Adam Fittis of 8th Carrickfergus who was runner-up in the musician of the year playing the bagpipes. He also helped with a small group of pipers who led one of the sections in our Battalion Church Parade. In the Company Section we have some success at NID level to report. Our congratulations go to 1st Ballyclare Company who were runners-up in the NID Mastermind final and then went one better by winning the NID Table Tennis competition. They went on to finish 4th in the Brigade Masterteam final and 5th in the Table Tennis finals. Unfortunately this year we did not have a Squad Drill competition. It is hoped that the companies who usually compete can sort out their adherence to Brigade Regulations regarding the wearing of uniform.
Your Executive has visited 5 Companies this session and have been well received. The reports back to the Executive have all been very encouraging and it is gratifying to know that our boys are in the hands of such excellent officers. The variety of programme show that we can still attract boys and keep them well occupied during the parade night. By the end of next session the Executive will have visited every company, not necessarily all sections, over the past five sessions. It is hoped that we can continue this cycle as we endeavour to give support to all our companies, officers and boys. Remember we are elected to serve the Battalion and we want to encourage everyone in our main aim of bringing our boys and young men to an everlasting faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ.
At NID and Brigade level a number of our officers are involved in various committees and we thank them for this extra effort on our behalf. The Brigade is producing a new Constitution and the NID Constitution will need some changes to bring it into line with the new Brigade one. We seem to be standing still with regard to the future of Rathmore House as our Headquarters and Training Centre. The NID AGM on 14th June at Rathmore is a meeting many of us should attend to ensure that our voice is heard.
In this coming Session we will celebrate our 40th anniversary and the Executive have a number of events organised and some more in the planning stage. We have to report that we have lost our hotel spot for an Officer's Dinner due it seems to people not being able to put down a deposit for a event so far in the future. We hope to have alternative provision made. All the details will be in the Battalion handbook which we hope to deliver to each officer enrolled in our Battalion. We would ask you especially now to put Sunday evening 23rd September at 7pm in your diaries as this will be an Officers' Dedication Service in Holy Trinity Church, Carrickfergus and this will be the start of our session of celebration.
Can we finally wish you a pleasant break from B.B. activities during the summer months and we trust and pray that you will all find refreshing of spirit and return to our work at the beginning of the session willing and able to serve our great Captain.
On behalf of the Executive, I submit this report.
Frank Picton
Battalion Secretary
