This was a question I was asked a little while ago so I thought
I would give you a insight into some aspects of the role. There are
some conversations and meetings, which I can't share with you
because of their confidential nature. Currently I deal with around
30 - 40 emails a day covering a multitude of topics and County
Office can get up to 100 emails each week .
It has been an interesting couple of weeks since my last blog
which started on Saturday 1st October with a day spent at Gilwell
working on a project to look at how skills acquired in Scouting can
be used to support those seeking jobs or university placements.
Debbie then spent the following day working on a project around
Beaver sleepovers.
Monday saw me attend a meeting in Chester of a new organisation
called Youth United. This is an initiative by the new
Lord-Lieutenant to bring together uniformed organisation's with the
aim of sharing best practice, resources where possible and to
discuss shared concern. The group has decided to concentrate on
adult recruitment within the first initiative likely to be at the
Cheshire Show.
On the Tuesday I attended the transitional executive meeting for
the new Mersey Weaver District, which will be launched in January,
bringing together North West Cheshire and Widnes Districts. The
meeting chose the new district badge, designed by a Cub in Widnes
and continued its work dealing with a number of practical issues to
ensure a successful launch in January.
Wednesday evening was dedicated to a meeting with the data team
who are tasked with finding ways to bring together the various data
resources available to us and then presenting them in ways, which
are useful at a County, District and Group level. Good progress is
being made, however as you can imagine this is a big piece of work.
During the morning I had the first meeting with our newly appointed
Activity Centre Manager, Dave Metcalfe, to discuss the job role and
how we could deliver the expected outcomes of this new role
Thursday brought the launch of Cheshire Challenge in Warrington
West where there was a good turnout of Leaders and once again real
enthusiasm for this initiative. This was the first time they had
tried the format of holding all the sectional meetings on the same
night and it appears to have gone down well.
Friday evening was the Knutsford District celebration dinner,
which included a presentation by some of their members who had
attended the World Scout Jamboree, all in all it was a great
night.
Saturday started with a regional meeting in Preston where the
subject was local incident planning which has generated some
serious discussion within the County about how prepared we are for
a major incident. This will be the subject of a number of
announcements in the near future. Then it was off to Tawd
Vale campsite where I was a judge at their annual "Festival
of Lanterns" event. They had around 300 camping with 15
groups spending the day preparing a display using candles and fire,
with a few using light bulbs and generators. Some of the displays
were amazing including a paddle steamer, a number of Harry Potter
themed displays and one incorporating two huge bonfires on the
theme of "Fire of London". You can see more about this event in the
current edition of Scouting magazine. Also in this issue on their
Jamboree report one of the pictures features members of the
Cheshire contingent.
Sunday gave me a day to catch up with emails and the other
paperwork, which built up during the week.
Monday was one of the regular meetings, which I now have with
the two Deputy County Commissioners, Val Thomason and Dave Hopley
where one of the key topics was working towards finalising the
County diary/planner for next year. As events and activities are
agreed they are now being placed in the diary on the website (www.cheshirescouts.org.uk)
Tuesday was a meeting with Paul Cook the County Media
Development Manager to discuss a number of PR opportunities, which
we are currently working on. These are all aimed at presenting a
positive impression of Scouting within Cheshire and hopefully
encouraging more adults to come forward to help us. It was also an
opportunity to meet a new member of the team, details of which will
be announced in the near future.
Wednesday saw me in Holmes Chapel where the group has acquired a
new headquarters, which was formerly a youth and community Centre.
It is a really good two-storey building with lots of space and will
be a real asset to Scouting in the area. Currently they are working
on a business plan to carry out improvements and to make it a
sustainable asset.
Thursday was a meeting with the regional development manager to
discuss some initiatives in the County but at least it gave me a
night off!
The weekend has included lots of paperwork, hundreds of emails
and a visit to a county training course with the opportunity of
meeting a group of leaders from various Groups and Districts who
were able to raise a number of interesting points around a host of
subjects. Real food for thought!
All good fun!