Annual Report - Secretary's Report

ANNUAL REPORT (2009 - 2010)

The 0809 Annual Report is available here

The 0708 Annual Report is available here

The 0607 Annual Report is available here

The 0506 Annual Report is available here

The 0405 Annual Report is available here

In presenting this report for 2009/10 session we acknowledge all the blessings Almighty God has bestowed upon our Battalion and we pray He will continue to bless and strengthen us as we seek to advance His kingdom among the Boys in our Battalion.

This year saw a big change in the Executive as Brian Smyth stood down as President having served the Battalion as Secretary and President since its inception back in 1967, as well as serving the East Antrim Group for many years before that. We welcomed the election of Drew Buchanan, Captain of 8th Carrickfergus as our new President and we would extend our congratulations to him on the recent award of the M.B.E. in the Queen's Honours List.

We would like to express our thanks to all our Officers and Helpers 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.

We continue to carry out the functions of the Battalion in as supportive a role as possible. Our Battalion numbers have remained fairly constant with an increase of 3 compared to last year. In relation to previous years we had a peak of 1800 members on 2007/7 which has fallen steadily to 1742 in this session. The Roy McCune Cup for all the work carried out by the Companies in Carrickfergus was shared by 2nd Carrickfergus and 8th Carrickfergus while the Fitzell Cup for Junior Section work in the Battalion was won by 8th Carrickfergus Company. In the Scripture Exam our entry numbers have continued to decline but we had 8 Boys, 4 at first stage and 4 at second stage who gained full marks and the average marks were higher than the past few years. 1st Kilbride Company won the Fitzell Cup for the company with the highest average mark in the Battalion with a mark of 87%. This is the first time that the Kilbride Company has won this trophy. We would congratulate all those Boys who received trophies and prizes at the Battalion Church Parade. The Battalion Church Parade was held in Carrickfergus hosted by 5th Carrickfergus. Our numbers were slightly increased but quite a few Companies still seem unwilling or unable to get Boys and Officers to come to this important Service. This is the one time we as a Battalion can parade to church through the streets of our towns, show off our commitment to our Saviour and let people see what a fine organisation we have. We would encourage those who have not taken part in previous years to do so again as you are missing an opportunity for us all to worship Almighty God as a group of Boys and Officers.

Our other Battalion activities continued with our usual programme of sporting and other activities with several companies also entering competitions at NID level. At NID level we congratulate 3rd Carrick Drill Squad on being Runners-up in the Drill competition for the second year in a row. 1st Ballyclare and 1st Greenisland Companies qualified for the NI Final of the Masterteam Quiz competition and 1st Greenisland have also won the table-tennis competition and were runners up in the Irish Final. 2 boys from 4th Carrickfergus, J. Gould and D. Maguire won the NID Bowls pairs competition, a great achievement from a small company. Congratulations to our Battalion football team who competed in the Junior Inter Battalion competition and came out as winners. Our training activities continue and we have had 2 very successful Skills Training for those Boys proceeding towards their President's Badge.

Our Junior section activities have gone ahead as usual and 8th Carrick won the Figure Marching, 1st Larne won the Quiz Kids heat and went on to finish 2nd in the NID final. 1st Larne also won the 5-a-side football competition and 1st Ballyeaston won the Uni-hoc competition. This year we again had success in the NID Junior Section Young Musician competition where Joe Parks of 6th Carrick came first and Matthew Edgar of 8th Carrick came second,. Congratulations to these boys and we hope they continue to develop their musical expertise. In the NID Spring competition 1st Larne were successful in the Battalion heat and represented us in the NID final.

We congratulate 1st Greenisland on winning the Battalion heat of the Fun and Games competition and then coming first in the NID final. In the colouring competition Adrian Donald of 2nd Carrick won the P1/P2 section and Max Davidson of 1st Ballylinney 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 we have found a few very dedicated officers who are 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.

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