COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORTCOUNCIL ANNUAL REPORTvoy.scouts.ca/sites/default/files/Voyageur Annual Report...

VOYAGEURScouts Canada 2010-2011

COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORTVOYAGEUR

Scouts Canada

COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT

2010-2011

It starts with Scouts.

voyageur.indd 1voyageur.indd 1 10/21/2011 1:01:45 PM10/21/2011 1:01:45 PM

Chris Majka - Council Youth Commissioner Victoria McCormick - Deputy CYC of Communications Vacant - Deputy CYC of Finance Raymond Desjardins - Deputy CYC of Training

Alex Landry - Deputy CYC of World Scouting Sarah Szabo - Deputy CYC of Recognition David Eliot - Deputy CYC of Program

Council Youth Service Team

Mike Jowett - Council Commissioner Stewart Ross - Deputy CC of RecognitionJohn Dougherty - Deputy CC of Program

Nick Wise - Deputy CC of Volunteer DevelopmentMichelle Niefer - Deputy CC of Operations & AdministrationCatherine Snedden - Council Administrator

Council Service Team

Doug Hall - Treasurer & Chair of Finance CommitteeDoug Cody - Popcorn

Key Council Volunteers

Owen Wiseman - Algonquin HillsLaurence Tyler - CarletonDan Drummond - HeritageDavid Parker - LoyalistPatti Milan - Nepean

Jim Peverley - OdawaGrace Jones - RideauSandy Thomas - Stormont-Glengarry Brian McAuley - Upper St. Lawrence ValleyJohn Stalker - Valley Highlands

Area Commissioners

Vacant - Algonquin HillsIan Wilenius - CarletonAshley Schippers - HeritageEmily Beausoleil - LoyalistVacant - Nepean

Eric Schmitt - OdawaMike Harris - RideauTyler Keneddy - Stormont-Glengarry Madeline Richer - Upper St. Lawrence ValleyMatt Courtland & Andreas Beelich - Valley Highlands

Area Youth Commissioners

Council Leadership


Voyageur Council’s support staff and volunteers have once again delivered an outstanding year in Scouting. Our Council has grown for the fifth straight year. This is due mainly to the exciting program that our volunteers deliver on a weekly basis, which keeps our youth members excited, engaged and inviting their friends to join in. Congratulations to all our volunteers for the creative efforts they provide in making our programs a fun learning experience.

Operationally we have grown our membership, delivered a balanced budget and maintained our fees. In addition we have taken the bold step forward to eliminate fees for our volunteers. This year more than 2/3 of our Groups grew and more than 1/3 retained better than 70% of their membership. We are a Council that many look up to and we will continue to be at the forefront of initiatives to ensure that Scouting remains in our communities for years to come.

Our Council continues to make our youth an integral part of the leadership of our organization and it has been a fantastic experience to watch them take on these responsibilities and use their creativity to deliver the initiatives in a new and exciting manner.

We have much to be thankful for, not the least of which is the thousands of volunteers who, week in and week out, provide quality programs for our youth. I cannot thank you enough for the continued efforts you provide. All of the Service Scouters deserve our thanks as well. Your support and guidance help us to concentrate on the job at hand - delivering the programs. A special word of thanks to my direct support team John Dougherty, DCC Program, Michelle Nieffer, DCC Operations & Administration, Nick Wise, DCC Volunteer Development and Stewart Ross, DCC Recognition, all of whom continue to take on more and more responsibilities without complaint. Thanks to the Area Commissioners who have been my guidance and direction in keeping our deliberations meaningful to the grassroots of the organization. Thank you all for your service to our members.

Thanks to all of you who sat on the committees for the events within our Council, including the annual camps: Council Beaveree, Rovent, RSVP ,Crazy Canuck, Adirondack Adventure, White Water, and Couch Rally just to name a few. What a line-up of fantastic experiences for our youth.

I would also like to thank the staff and management of our EOAC for their dedication and commitment to providing administrative support. It has been a pleasure and privilege to work with you.

There are many aspects of our Council that I have probably overlooked, but rest assured, your efforts do not go unnoticed. All of us have a part to play and together we make up one of the best Councils in the country.

Thanks to all of you for your support and dedication to the youth in our communities.

Sincerely,

Mike Jowett

CouncilCommissionerMichael Jowett – Council Commissioner


Program had an eventful year with the Venturers leading the way with many Council wide activities as is the norm. Couch Rally, VenClimb, Crazy Canuck and RoVent all packed into a six week span. The third weekend of October was very interesting with RoVent, Odawa Area Medic Alert and BP Skills, MedVent and Senior Section WB1 at Camp Opemikon being visited by over one hundred members of the World Scout Foundation headed by King Carl Gustv and Queen Silvia of Sweden on the Sunday. It was an excellent showcase of Voyageur Council scouting activities to scouters from around the world.

The Scouts Canada Food Drive for the Ottawa Food bank was successful in November and the second year of a Scouts Night with the Ottawa Senators with sleepover bring out over 800 people to the game and close to 200 to sleep over in December.

January saw groups of Venturers hiking in the Adirondacks over several weekends, a Scout Day with the Ottawa 67’s with a trial Food Drive and Area winter camps. February saw a continuation of Area winter camps, klondike derbies and challenge days. The Kingston Frontenacs held their Scout Day and many Groups held civic fl ag raisings to commemorate Scout/Guide week including Ottawa City Hall.

May saw the Council Beaveree held at the Lomdardy Fairgrounds with several hundred participants braving a damp day for plenty of fun events. Venturers held their whitewater training weekends that were full to capacity. Most Areas held year end camps starting in May and extending into June.

Voyageur Council had two Groups participate in the testing of the new Beaver Program with valuable feedback. Thanks to Spencerville and Stittsville for their help. We were also one of the few Councils that provided policy suggestions regarding the question of Venturer membership inclusion.

Council sponsored Groups continue to operate well with Police Venturers and MedVents at capacity and the Ope Company and Crew providing outstanding service to Camp Opemikon. I would like to welcome Marc Couture as the new Group Commissioner of the Voyageur Region Service Corps. He is building his team and they have added new focus to the Group.

My thanks to the many Scouters who help organize and run Council, Area, Group and Section activities. Their success is refl ected in our growth and retention numbers. Great program attracts and hold the interest of our youth and adults.

ProgramJohn Dougherty – Deputy Council Commissioner Program

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Voyageur Council continues an envied history of playing a leading role in Scouting training in Canada. Voyageur Council has the highest percentage of trained leaders in Canada. Our primary focus remains providing the Wood Badge Part I (WBI) courses that all new leaders and leaders changing sections require in their fi rst year of program. We are very proud of the quality of our WBI courses. Our council also provides advanced program training and program support courses.

Your dedicated Voyageur Council Training Team provided many training courses distributed across the council in 2010-11. More than 15 Wood Badge Part I (Colony, Pack, Troop, Company, Crew, Group Commissioner) courses training over 100 Scouters, 10 Standard First Aid courses training 100 scouters and youth, 45 scouters in four sections participated in Wood Badge Part II training, and the council presented the national Council Commissioners course. The gym at Smiths Falls Collegiate was filled with council scouters at ScoutCOM 2011. In 2010-11 we invested in new first aid training equipment, including 4 AED (defibrillator) trainers.

There are now more choices in training for Scouters. WBI courses are now available on the web for all fi ve sections via Scouts Canada’s on-line elearning. As of September 15, 2011, council scouters completed 322 elearning section courses for Colony, Pack and Troop on-line. The Company and Crew courses are now on-line. Voyageur Council will continue to provide our WBI courses, as we believe there is

much value in the interaction with your peers, learning by doing and sharing that are the hallmarks of our in person courses. We believe Scouters receive a more comprehensive learning experience from in-person courses.

Your council training team is busy tackling challenges in training for 2011-2012, including supporting the fi ve pillars of the new Volunteer Support Tool Kit especially formal training. We will be presenting WBI courses distributed across the Council, WBII courses, Standard First Aid, Trainer and Support Scouter training courses. We will also be rolling out our new council training website, with automated course registration and reporting.

Thanks to the many adult and youth trainers that presented the youth and skills courses through our areas, Rover crews, and the Venturer Advisors Forum. Thank you to our volunteer trainers, council staff, deputy area commissioners for training, deputy council youth commissioner, training coordinators and other members of the training team, for your dedication and commitment.

The training team congratulates all Voyageur Scouters who participated in training, who earned Wood Badge and First Aid recognition, and who participated in skill building workshops. When you take these skills back to your section, remember the words of our founder B.P.: “There is no teaching to compare with example.” Your enthusiasm is infectious. Spread the Scouting spirit and good scouting to you.

TrainingNick Wise – Deputy Council Commissioner Training

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The past year has seen a number of changes of how recognition is handled in Voyageur Council. There have been a number of innovations including the promotion of Area, Council and National honours and awards; wide spread advertising of the Council Scholarship program; changes of how nominations are processed, decided upon, announced and delivered; the introduction of a new Council recognition; and changes to some of the forms used to nominate worthy members of Scouting. Of signifi cance was the presentation of recognition and thanks for leaders who had completed up to their fi rst fi ve years of Scouting as an Adult Volunteer. The changes introduced in the processing of nominations for recognition which was introduced last year has had it’s bumpy road but nominations are generally having a higher turnaround which has allowed for the presentations to be in both a more timely and appropriate manner. An example was when the two Orders of the Caribou and the three Bars to the Order of the Caribou were presented at Voyageur Council’s Scouters’ Conference. They recognized the efforts to plan and organize an event and the recognition was presented AT the event along with various other Council and National recognition.

Continuing from our success of last year, recognition was a minor event at the Council Annual General Meeting with the exception of the fi rst awarding of the new Bar to the Order of the Caribou. Most often, recipients received their recognition in front of their peers, the youth they work with, or at special events such as RoVent, RSVP, or Area/Group/Section events. This change meant that presentation

ceremonies were typically short, had great impact on the recipient and their audience, and were an unexpected surprise. It was often the case that the presenter was a youth or other member who had particular signifi cance to the recipient instead of an Area or Council Commissioner. Recipients can still elect to receive the recognition at a representation at the Council Annual General Meeting but more often than not just their names are read out as having received recognition.

Emphasis of youth recognition took on a stronger role through the Council Scholarship (Phil Mondor) Awards which was this past June. The ceremony was held outside of the Scout offi ce with the Council’s Venturer Advisors’ Forum and members of Joint Council in attendance. The recipients were: Jeffrey Calder and Sascha Godey. Scouts Canada Board of Governors member (and Voyageur Council-Nepean Rover Crew member) Neal Rice along with Council Commissioner Mike Jowett made the presentations by congratulating the recipients and encouraging more to apply for next year’s round of Scholarships.

A continuing innovation was in the planning and conduct of this year’s Chief Scout and Queen’s Venturer Award Ceremony in Almonte. With the support of the Ottawa area chapter of the Chief Scouts Association, the Council Youth Network, under the capable leadership of Rover Eric Schmitt, designed a memorable ceremony celebrating the 53 Chief Scouts and 2 Queen’s Venturers who achieved these prestigious awards.

Special recognition was also presented to the Opemikon Rover Crew for it’s 50 years of service to the Camp. The plaque was presented at a special ceremony at Opemikon by DCC-Program John Dougherty.

For this past year I extend my thanks to the Deputy Area Commissioners-Recognition for their hard work. Those who will be continuing are: Bill Fettes (Guild rep), Darlene McCallum (Algonquin Hills), Bernie McMullen (Carleton), Garry Morphet (Loyalist), Susie James (Nepean), Randy Miller (Rideau), Doug Scott (Upper St. Lawrence), and Roger Nuttall (Valley Highlands). Those who will be leaving us include: Sarah Szabo (youth deputy), Doug Cody (Heritage), and Patrick Wall (Odawa). We welcome Emily Beausoleil (youth deputy), Brent Craig (Heritage), and Alan Clapp (Odawa) and extend our appreciation for your willingness to help in continuing to strive in our efforts of timely and appropriate recognition for our Adult Volunteers and youth members.

Special thanks to Lynn Levitan who has coordinated Council level recognition for this past year.

Council RecognitionStewart Ross – Deputy Council Commissioner Recognition


Award of Fortitude:Brazeau, FrancesYoung (Bush), Karen

Certifi cate of Meritorious Conduct:Kerrivan, Peter

Silver Acorn:McCracken, BruceWalkington, Bob

Medal of Merit:Boyd, JonSmith, NolanTyler, LaurenceLefebvre, SharonSeymour, GaryWall, Patrick

Medal of Good Service:Avery, DuaneCarr, RonGunther, BrianHoncoop, MichaelLeeder, MichaelLiedke, DavidMacdonald, TylerMartin, JoelPaterson, LisaPriems, GeoffreySmith, PeterWalker, PaulWebster, Brent

Certifi cate of Commendation:Gilmer, JackLawless, KevinSissing, Shelley

Order of the Caribou: Attrux, Shawn Cunningham, David Flockton, DeanKerr, Dawn Milette, Michael Mollison, IanNieuwkoop, NeilNuttall, RobinParent, GillesPreims, GeoffreyReid, Steve Remus, JocelynRoss, DavidRyan, Kevin Szabo, SarahScobie, RobertStanley, ScottSylvester, Bob Tremblay, TashavanLith, Yvonne

Bar to the Order of the Caribou:Bennett, JohnCharbonneau, CristinFontaine, KellyKossatz, Kerrie LynnLamaree, DavidMurphy, JaneParker, DavePreims, GeoffreyRacz, BillShore, KenTotten, PaulWall, PatrickWise, Nick Council Youth AwardCumming, IanLemontagne, StevenLepine, AmyRobertson, CaelenRobertson, Kerrin

Chief Scout Award:Anderson, Kevin 1st Glen CairnBonsall, Braeden 1st Glen Cairn Cooper, Daniel 1st Glen Cairn Cotter, Andrew 1st Kanata Tiukuvaara, Johannes 1st KanataTiukuvaara, Samuel 1st Kanata Scott, Melissa 3rd Kanata Dapoz, Dennis 7th Kanata Wardle, Gregory 7th Kanata Robertson, Aaron 1st Fallowfi eld Andrews, Spencer 1st Stittsville Caughey, Cameron 1st Stittsville Liedtke, Jeremy 1st Stittsville McCausland, Chad 1st Stittsville Prentice, Jordan 1st Stittsville Young-Davies, Alexander 1st Stittsville Murphy, Midori 2nd Gatineau Skublics, Jenny 72nd Ottawa Starzynski, Hannah 72nd Ottawa James, Daniel 150th OttawaDuggan, Trent 36th Ottawa O’Neil, Ryan 1st Amherstview Bath Peever, Samantha Don 1st Bayridge Cardoso, Miguel Kingston Centre Landry, Nicholas Roger Lawrence Kingston Centre Beelen, Benjamin 4th Bells Corners Black, Arianna 1st Nepean Sweezey, Rachel 1st Nepean Yu, Jessica 1st Nepean Ao, Justin 23rd Nepean Beaulieu,Dimitri 23rd Nepean Boertjes, Jacob 23rd Nepean Ecroyd-Downie, Craig 23rd Nepean O’Keefe, Ryan 23rd NepeanPatel, Parth 23rd NepeanRawlings, James 23rd Nepean Totten, Ryan 27th NepeanGriffi th Turtle, Riley 1st Blackburn Caron, Francis 1st Blackburn

Berube, Samuel Louis 14th Gloucester Sea Scouts Schofi eld, Christian James Avery 14th Gloucester Sea Scouts Engineer, Amanda 4th OrleansHumphries, Stephen 4th OrleansLathey, Adrian 4th OrleansOhrt, Victoria 4th OrleansLipohar, Nicholas 8th OrleansMcKelvey, Cooper 8th OrleansMeek, Liam 8th Orleans Peverley, Ross 8th Orleans White, Timothy 8th Orleans Rozon, Liam 1st RocklandCain, Connor 1st Rockland Gagnon, David 78th Ottawa LDS Eckert, Lauren 1st Manotick Crockett, Liam 1st North Gower /Kars Stephens, Shane 1st North Gower /Kars Burelle, Samantha J. 11th Ottawa Henley, Michael 28th Ottawa Patterson, Calder 28th OttawaRoss, Edward 3rd Cornwall

Queen’s Venturers: Beausoleil, Emily Bayridge Group Braithwaite, Ian 4th Orleans

CongratulationsVoyageur Council is pleased to announce the following recognition:


On a daily basis, we process registration packages; manage a PRC issues; prepare recognition materials; print membership cards; develop membership reports; process certifi cates of insurance; review contracts; order popcorn; pay a camp’s hydro bill; process refunds; train new Group Registrars; take camp bookings; prepare training participant lists; collate annual reports; process subsidy requests; update web sites; and the list goes on… But most importantly, every year things seem to be getting better and better.

For the past number of years we have been refi ning our recording of the registration packages that come to the Council offi ce. This “refi ning” has resulted in being able to more accurately track what is in the MMS verses what we have “In Offi ce”, which has resulted in our ability to consult with the Groups to resolve outstanding issues sooner. More importantly, at the end of each Scouting year, we must reconcile what is in the MMS to the registration bills that we pay National, and I am pleased to say that we have closed the discrepancy of unresolved memberships to approximately a dozen. This coming year we have made even further modifi cations to address these as well.

On the fi nancial side of the house, we are doing well in relation to controlling expenses with only a few exceptions that were beyond our control. Our Council Accountant, Lyn Williams joined the team a little over a year ago and has put our fi nancial reporting back into shape. Thanks Lyn! One challenge that

we have been trying to overcome is fi lling the position of Council Treasurer. We have placed ads, posted website opportunities and utilized word-of-mouth to seek out a volunteer willing to take on the role without success. The search continues…

“Being Prepared” is not just for the program people in Scouting – it applies to the administration of the offi ce as well. In keeping with the changes that National had been doing as part of the “Action Plan”, Councils, Areas and Groups were all asked to play a part. Specifi cally, one large event that we were preparing for was the launch of the new Association Management System (AMS) or “MyScouts.ca”, which required a great deal of MMS clean-up. Even though the system’s launch date was postponed, the upfront work that we were all able to accomplish has moved us miles ahead. With the June 30th deadline, registrations were entered in the MMS by the Groups saving the offi ce signifi cant hours of verifying that the members were indeed registered. Once again over 50% of our regular membership was pre-registered and ready for Scouting in September. Not bad at all!

Once again, I have to take the opportunity to thank our administrative staff (Ladka Stodola, Lynn Levitan, Pamela Bazinet, Carolyn Pink and Lyn Williams). I see the volume of work that they deal with on a daily basis and I am impressed with their cheery demeanors regardless of the circumstances.

OperationsJeff Benson – Council Operations Manager

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The Area Key 3 hit the ground running in August, holding Area Kick-off’s throughout the Council that were highly successful. The National Kick-off kits were introduced, showcased and delivered personally to the majority of the Groups in the Council at these events. The kits were well-received and used in the Area’s throughout the year.

As well, we received a generous grant from the Ontario Incorporated Body that allowed us to assist Groups with such things as the School Door-hangers, a Welcome Back Postcard campaign, restocking and updating the Area PR Kits with newly branded materials, newspaper Ad campaigns in the Fall and Spring, Thank you/Welcome back letters to returning Volunteers, Bring-a-Friend campaigns year-round, an Honorary Member Mayor Program. The grant also funded a Growth Symposium at which the Area Commissioners discussed best practices surrounding Membership, Growth and targets, Partner Appreciation Certifi cates for all partners across the Council and the purchase of a professional Scouts Canada branded pop-up tent for use at events/promotions.

An “Add-a-Section Bursary” for new sections was introduced. As well, the Retention Incentive program ran again this year, along with discounted spring registration and a Winter Friendfest Incentive program.

Several Succession Committee’s were struck and CFE’s assisted with identifying candidates, recruiting nominee’s, interviewing and placing 5 new Area Commissioners.

Voyageur welcomed the new 28th Hungarian Scout Group to the Council, as well as the 1st Whitewater Group in Beachburg (Algonquin Hills), the Heritage Area Rover Crew, and the Odawa Area Rover Crew and a new LDS Group in Loyalist Area. A successful ScoutsAbout program was run again this year in Rochester Heights, Ottawa.

Congratulations to the Council for growing for a 5th year in a row with a total of 102% Growth, and 64.8% Retention. Seven of the 10 Area’s grew this year, with Heritage Area at the top of the list with 110.3%. Out of 106 Groups, 63 grew this year. Great job!

MembershipDevelopmentKelly Banks and Heather Lee - Council Field Executives

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Scouts Canada, Voyageur Council is proud to recognize the many Corporations, Foundations, Small Businesses, Service Clubs and Government Agencies that have provided us with the necessary funding to operate the programs and projects within Voyageur Council.

The fi nancial assistance that these organizations, businesses, and Government agencies provide is generous and invaluable. It is with sincere thanks that we recognize the support from the following:

• Government of Canada, Human Resources Skills Development Canada: Funds to assist Voyageur Council in hiring our Senior Staff for the summer months at Camp Opemikon to deliver our summer camp programs.

• Government of Ontario, Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport: Through the Healthy Communities Fund, support to our SCOUTSabout Program.

• Shell Canada Environment Fund: Providing assistance to Voyageur Council’s Environmental Programs

• TD Friends of the Environment: Providing us with funds for our Environmental Programs delivered within the Council

• John Howard Society, Summer Jobs Service: Funding to subsidize the hiring of staff at Camp Opemikon and the Schools and Scouting Program.

• Otto’s BMW/Subaru: Funding to assist Voyageur Council’s Environment programs as well as worthwhile funding towards the Council’s Youth Assistance Program.

• Youth Employment Bureau (Youth Employment Strategy Program): Funding to subsidize the hiring of the residential summer staff at Camp Opemikon.

• Urbandale Housing Corporation: Providing subsidies for Voyageur Council’s Environmental Programs in the Ottawa area.

• Scouts Canada Foundation: Assistance towards our Extreme Adventure Program at Camp Opemikon as well as the ‘No one Left Behind Program’ (supporting local youth to join Scouting)

• Scouts Canada, Ontario Incorporated Body: Support to the Council’s Marketing and Promotions Strategy.

• Carleton University: Support through the “Send a Child to Camp” Program

• City of Ottawa Environment Program: Support to Camp Opemikon’s Nature Program

• The Easier to Read Telephone Directory: Support to the Voyageur Council’s Environment Programs

• Government of Ontario, Ministry of the Environment: Funding from the Community Go Green Program to support our Climate Change Action Program (summer program at Camp Opemikon, training programs, fun nights, open houses and more).

In Summary, Scouts Canada, Voyageur Council has successfully raised signifi cant funds to support many worthwhile initiatives. Thank you to our donors for their much appreciated fi nancial assistance. Your support is invaluable to us.

As volunteers, where possible, please do everything you can to recognize the support of these many donors personally.

RevenueDevelopmentNatalie Benson – Manager, Revenue Development

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Thank you to our many Contributors.

SponsorsRecognition

Otto’s BMW 660 Hunt Club Road Ottawa, ON K1V

Shell Environmental

Fund


The 2010-11 year saw a number of changes within Algonquin Hills Area. Angela David started the year as area commissioner but with her husband’s posting and move to Borden she stepped down from the position. Owen Wiseman took over as of 10 Dec. Rick Davies, DAC Training, went home on Nov 18 leaving a void in our area. 1st Whitewater Group was reactivated in Feb with a colony and pack.

The year ended with a total of 451 members registered in 7 groups.

The Scouting year kicked off with a weekend for area staff at Camp Ledgwade. Petawawa hosted the annual area Scout Truck Races on 25 Mar with the Kub Kar and Beaver Buggy races being held on 26 Mar. Scouttrees was held on 30 April with a total of 5000 trees being planted. Area Camp Ledgwade Annual Spring Clean-up weekend was also held that weekend. The first annual Area camp was held on 13-15 May with a total of 180 people registered.

Algonquin Hills Area participated in the Renfrew County Expo 150. This is expo marked the 150th Anniversary of Renfrew County was held 9-12 June at the Pembroke Airport It was a showcase of groups and services available in Renfrew County. The booth that was set up and manned by the Area team was a display of historical uniforms and memorabilia donated by area leaders as well as PR related items.

Algonquin Hills has had a successful year and we are looking forward to an even better year in 2011-12.

Algonquin HillsOwen Wiseman – Area Commissioner

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Carleton Area and its groups had a great 2010/2011 Scouting year! We grew 5.2% to 1,262 members and retained 71.4% of last year’s membership.

The Groups within Carleton Area provided active programs for their youth and continued to participate in local community events including; Remembrance Day, Santa Claus Parades, Canada Day in Stittsville and Kanata, Community parades, the Kanata Food Drive and Scoutrees – including a Scoutrees display at Hazeldean Mall.

In addition to numerous Section, Group linking camps and other activities; one Council-wide and four Area-wide program activities were carried out:

- the White-tail Beaver Sleepover at the Museum of Science and Technology in November 2010, with 712 participants over 3 nights from Colonies across Council;

- the Winter Beaveree/Cuboree at the Carp Fairgrounds in February 2011 with 447 participants;

- the7th annual Klondike Derby at the in February 2011 with 167 participants from Carleton and other Areas,

- Carleton’s annual Camporee at Fitzroy Provincial Park in May 2011, with over 1100 participants.

- This year, the fi rst ever Carleton Badge trading event was held for senior youth

Fifteen Scouts (up from 11 last year) achieved their Chief Scout Award. Numerous recognition awards were also given to volunteers and youth in the Area including: 2 Medal of the Maple, a number of Order of the Caribou, Bar to the Order of the Caribou, Medals of Merit and Good Service awards and a number of Area and Council recognition awards. One individual received a 60 year service award, and two individuals received their 3rd bead.

The Area Service Team supported its 11 Scout Groups including service visits, mentoring and provided program material on the Area website, plus provided a 3-section (C/P/T) WB 1 course for Area leaders needing WB1. With the option of on-line WB1 training, the Area saw a decrease in attendance at the in-person WB1 courses.

Area fi nances are in good order with the Area’s cash reserves having decreased slightly per the objective of reducing some of the Area surplus. Area committee has continued to use some of these surplus reserves to offset costs for WB 1 and First Aid Training and to help promote registration through advertising. Area event fees were held to last years’ price or reduced. Area purchased additional snowshoes and GPS units to support program. (fi nancial report available)

CarletonLaurence Tyler – Area Commissioner

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Heritage Area has again had a wonderful scouting year in 2010 - 2011. We enjoyed growth with membership at 110% of the previous year and 8 of our groups surpassing the 15% goal. Heritage welcomed the 28th Hungarian Group to the area. Also new to Heritage is the Heritage Area Rover Crew consisting mainly of Rovers holding various positions with Council but not having a ‘group’ to call home.

The Heritage Program Team offered lots of opportunity to our youth. Our Beavers had a Beaveree at Mooney’s Bay in the fall. Cubs held another excellent Urban Quest starting from the Bank of Canada Currency Museum, a great winter Polar Day at Carleton Heights Community Centre, Kub Kars races at Ottawa Tech and spring camp at Camp Impessa near Wolf Lake. A particular highlight was being joined at Kub Kars by Janet Yale, Scouts Canada’s new CEO. Thanks Janet, for coming out and for giving us a look at the new uniform! Scouts held their fall and winter camps at the area’s Otter Lake Campsite, the annual Klondike Derby in February at Lac Laemy, Scout Trucks in April at Hilson School and a spring camp at Camp Awacamenj Mino in May. Heritage groups were active internationally this year with a contingent attending the World Jamboree in Sweden and another group visiting Germany this past summer. Great Scouting!

The eLearning training is popular among our new leaders. Our rising membership is the result of good programs delivered by well trained leaders. Thanks to our DAC Adult Development for keeping the pressure on to complete training!

Thirteen of our groups participated in Apple Day. Heritage manned 4 stores during the November Food Drive and popcorn sales are growing.

Our DAC Recognition has again been busy. Of particular note is the awarding of a well deserved and long over due Silver Acorn to Bob Walkington of the 96th Ottawa.

The Heritage Area web site was completely revamped this year and has a fresh new look.

Two new members joined our Heritage team this year. Ashley Schippers was welcomed as AYC and Eugene Lavigne is now coordinating Special Events.

Once again I must thank the dedicated members of the Heritage Team for helping to make scouting a success in Heritage.

HeritageDan Dr ummond – Area Commissioner

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Loyalist Area had an extremely successful and rewarding Scouting year in 2010/11, with a jam-packed series of Area Events to support and augment the Section Programs. This certainly contributed to the over 10% growth in the Area. Additionally, the Area was looking forward to enhance Scouting in the coming years by increasing the number of DAC’s and recruiting them with skill sets that ensure success in areas such as fi nance, public relations, program, training, recognition, property development planning, etc. Kingston Mayor Mark Gerretsen has also joined the team as the Loyalist Area Patron of Scouting and has attended some of our events, in uniform, such as the ceremonial face-off during Scouting Day with the Kingston Frontenacs, and made the proclamation of Scout Guide Week.

The Loyalist Scouting leadership are extremely proud of the very well attended events that they rolled off right from our Kick-off BBQ for Leaders in Aug 2010 to the week long Area Scub Camp run in Aug 2011. Brotherhood Camp was held on the US side and well attended. Kevin Ryan and his team worked tirelessly from then on to organize the 2011 Brotherhood Camp at Morrisburg, which I can confi rm had the highest numbers on the Canadian side for many years. Apple Day was a good activity and fundraiser for us with the proceeds going to the maintenance of our properties. This year we participated in the Santa Claus Parades in the Area, with our fl oats in Kingston, Verona, and Seeley’s Bay winning awards. We ran our fi rst City-wide Food Drive in partnership with Partners in Mission Foodbank, Loblaw’s, Discount Truck Rental, and U-Haul. Almost seven tonnes of food and just under four thousand dollars were collected. The Area Winter Scout Camp Chilly was an exciting weekend for the youth and Leaders alike and plans are already in place for a bigger and better camp this year. BP Week saw activities all week for Scouting, from three

days of Section activities at the Cataraqui mall, to Group BP Banquets, and the Area Kub Kar / Scout Truck Rally. Harold Dalmas again ran the Area Bridge Breaking Challenge and held it in the public eye at the Frontenac Mall. For the fi rst time we also ran a Bike Swap and Rally which was a hit and will be an Area event again in 2012. Loyalist Area supported the Council Beaveree and ran a Scuboree for the Area Cubs and Scouts. A Leaders Appreciation Dinner was held in April 2011 with our Council Commissioner as our guest of honour. On top of this Groups and their Section ran fun, challenging, and educational programs that are certain to grow Scouting in Loyalist.

We have also undertaken the planned development of our three camps in the Area and our two buildings in Kingston to facilitate and enhance the Scouting experience. Otter Lake Camp now has improved access, additional parking, and an enlarged Scout Field as phase one of the plan. Both Otter Lake Camp and Camp Oskenonton have had their water treatment upgraded to meet the new provincial water standards.

Our DAC Recognition has been working hard to ensure we meet Scouts Canada recognition goals and has been doing a good job at reaching the target. Our most signifi cant recognition for the past year was the presentation of the Medal of Fortitude the Karen Young for her continued hard work and dedication to her Group and the Area in spite of a serious medical condition.

You can follow our Area’s activities on our upgraded web site: www.kingstonscouting.ca

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LoyalistDavid Parker – Area Commissioner

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Once again Odawa Area has had a successful year of Scouting with a varied and active program for youth in the area. Leaders from all groups have been very generous with their time in planning and executing a successful string of area events for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts and Odawa Area’s new Rover Crew has been prominent in supporting area events with their outdoor expertise.

Area events have included fall and winter Beaverees, Fall and winter Cuborees, Scouts Medic Alert Camp, Scout winter camp, Scout Trucks and Kub Kar rallies and a very successful spring area camp for all sections.

The outstanding work of our volunteers has been recognized through the presentation of several national awards and many nominations for the Odawa Award.

While overall numbers in Odawa were down slightly this year there are several groups that have experienced signifi cant growth and one new group has formed – 2nd Hawkesbury LDS. Restructuring within Voyageur Council has seen the addition of groups from the former Stormont Glengarry Area into Odawa Area along with Apple Hill Scout Reserve.

With the new Scouting year Patrick Wall has assumed the Area Commissioner role and has a full service team in place to support Scouting in Odawa.

OdawaJim Peverley – Area Commissioner

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Again this year, the major focus for the groups within Nepean Area was on Growth.

For the 1st time in 5 years we are very proud to say that the Area grew with our membership for this year at 101%.

This year the Groups focused on running Bring A Friend events at the Colony level for any colony that wasn’t at capacity in order to try to grow our membership from the bottom up. This saw 6 Bring A Friend events within the Area, bringing in 39 Friends and recruiting 6 new members.

To help with retention within the Area, once again Nepean Area hosted a BP Week Dinner/Dance evening during for all leaders, Rovers and their signifi cant others to provide some “adult fun” for our leaders and to provide an environment to meet someone new within the Scouting family.

The Annual Area Family Camp ran in June to continue reigniting all section camps within the Area and to help introduce camping to those families who are leery to try camping, by providing a gentle way to learn the OUT in Scouting. Multiple activities were set up over the weekend that were optional for families to participate and once again it was an overwhelming success for those that attended.

The Area continues to host many program activities that enrich the experience of our youth. Notably:Rovent - 112th Nepean Venturer Company & Rover CrewRSVP - the Nepean Rover CrewPaddle Night – the Nepean Rover CrewNight Prowl – 123rd Ottawa Group

National recognition award submissions were down this year due to frustration from the groups of how slow the turn around time has become to process award submissions. It is our hope that once this is fi xed that the groups will once again begin writing up their members for these award.

I’d like to thank all of our volunteers for all of their hard work this past year to begin turning our membership numbers around and making Scouting within Nepean much stronger.

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NepeanPatti Milan – Area Commissioner

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Special Thanks to Dollco Printing for their donation of printing costs andNolan Smith for design and layout of the annual report.

Rideau Area in 2010-2011 saw an increase in both membership and retention. Membership increased slightly by 20 members or 2% with an overall retention rate of 68.3%. Seven Groups registered 100% or more of their previous year’s membership numbers with the other fi ve all reaching over 91%. Five Groups also reached over 71% retention with two of those achieving over 80% retention. A huge congratulations goes out to all the Groups in the Area and their leadership teams for their commitment and belief in the Scouting movement.

Youth input and involvement increased greatly with an increase in youth leadership seen throughout the Area with more sections actively engaging Activity Leaders and Scouters-in-Training and an increase in our senior youth’s involvement at Council and in the Council Youth Network.

Area Scouters’ clubs and summits continued and the youth in all sections had a number of opportunities to participate in a number of Area events. All sections enjoyed the second annual Area All Section Day held at Andy Shield’s Park in October. Beavers enjoyed a local winter Beaveree and many of the Colonies also participated in the Council Beaveree in the spring. Cubs a fall, winter, and spring camp along with a Kub Kar rally, the third annual Third Year Sleepover, and 6er/2er workshop. Scouts also participated in a number of camps, Rideau Area’s fi rst Klondike Derby, the ever popular Rideau Challenge, and an Area Scout Truck rally which ran in conjunction with the Kub Kar rally. Our Venturers also were busy with their own section and group activities as well as the many planned through VAF and JC. Again the Rover Crew grew and continued to assist individual sections when asked.

1st Gloucester Group was awarded both the Area Group Membership Increase Award and the Group Retention Award for 2010-2011. They not only increased their membership over the previous year by 35.7% but also retained the greatest percentage of members from the previous Scouting year, retaining 85.7%.

89 Rideau Area Participation Awards were presented to members from seven Groups, a very prestigious award for which the bar has been set high. Not everyone will receive it but everyone (youth and adult members) are eligible to receive it provided they achieve the requisites for the award. The award focuses on one’s outstanding participation at the Section, Group, and Area levels. Congratulations to each of the participants, a great achievement for each recipient and a testament to the programs being delivered.

Rideau Area is also extremely proud of several other award recipients. Drew Mason, Kathleen Miln, Yvonne van Lith, and David Ross were all presented with the Order of the Caribou. Kerrie-Lynn Kossatz, David Laramee, Ken Shore were recipients of the Bar to the Order of the Caribou. And Ian Cumming and Oliver Brien-Wright were presented with the Council Youth Award.

Area growth, an increase in retention, a focus on recognition, maintaining support to groups and programs all contributed to our successful 2010-2011 Scouting year in Rideau. Rideau Rules and will continue in the years to come. Planning for the future will help to ensure many more successful years to come.

RideauGrace Jones – Area Commissioner V

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The scouting year 2010/11 has been a year of some success in USLVA. Growth fell off in some groups, and others met or exceeded their goals. Smaller groups are feeling the rise in costs next year will hurt their numbers.

The program year was good . All the sections had at least one seasonal Area activity per season . There were linking activities by all the sections at some of these Area camps/activities as well.

Several area Beaver Colonies attended the Council Beaveree and fun was had by all.

Cub Packs kept busy all year and attended several area events each. Senior Cubs are looking forward to possibly attending CJ13.

Our 3 Venturer Companies met regularly for meetings/events including games nights and skating/hockey nights at a local outdoor rink. They attended several council wide events also. Groups started actively fundraising for the National Venturer event in 2012.

Area Scouts attended our by-yearly Can/Am exchange with groups from Conneticuit, USA. Our groups travelled to Camp Matatuck, Conn on Thanksgiving weekend, and they came to Camp Sheldrick on Memorial day weekend. A

small group from 8th Brockville attended the World Jamboree in Sweden. Groups started actively fundraising for CJ13.

Some more good news is the new USLVA Rover Crew based out of Prescott in the 2011/12 year, likely containing 5 or 6 members, but you have to start somewhere. They will be sponsored by the USLV area team and will have a charter of their own. Paperwork for this is still pending. The group is making plans to attend the World Rover Moot in 2013.

Through active encouragement at all Scouters club meetings, USLVA was 100% in having leaders with woodbadge 1 and no prospectives.

The trend at this time continues to be small growth from the rural areas and holding steady in.

Upper St. Lawrence ValleyBrian McAuley – Area Commissioner

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2010/11 was a great year for Valley Highlands Area.

Our numbers were up 106.3%, to 372, with 6 out of 8 groups exceeding 110%. A busy year, with lots of outdoor activities was enjoyed by all.

The fall JOTA/Bike/skills camp gave many youth a taste of challenge, but was a lot of fun.

Scout/Guide week had celebrations held in each of our Groups home ranges across the area.

Successful winter events were held for all levels, with the Beaver BRRR, Cub Winter Challenge and Scout Winter camp all being well appreciated by their participants.

Kub Kars/ScoutTrucks/Beaver Buggies was a lot of fun, although the great turnout made it a bit crowded at times.

NiteVent - The spring camp was an all-sections camp (Scouting 101, celebrating the 101st anniversary of Scouting in Carleton Place), and with a great turnout and enthusiastic youth and leaders, a great time was had by all!

Our second annual combined year-end Cub/Scout canoe trip in Northern Algonquin Park was held in July, with 54 youth and 27 adults taking part. It will be repeated on an annual basis, although the location may change. The 3 level camp, with a still camp, overnight trips, and an expedition was a great success. A special Thank You! To Allen Sinfi eld, Chris Tyler, Michelle Niefer and Alex Beelich, for spearheading the organization of what became a very large trip, and to all the others who made it happen!

With fantastic weather, the annual “Beef-on-a-Bun” booth at the Lombardy Fair fundraising for Whispering Pines Camp raised enough income to fund the camp for the next year. Thanks to all the volunteers’ enthusiasm, led by Jeff Criggar, Joan Smith, and Jean and Stan Lasenba. Whispering Pines use numbers were good with many training sessions held as well as local and more distant scouting groups using the facility. We even had a large group from Pennsylvania use the camp.

The Venturers and Rovers participated in many of the events organized by the Venturer Advisor Forum, the Senior section youth committees in their various forms, and the Joint Council with senior Guiding members, including Venclimb, Rovent, Adirondack Winter Alpine Snowshoeing Adventure, Laserquest Lockdown, Whitewater canoe and kayaking, Wilderness First aid Training and many more. Several of our Rovers and Rover advisors earned or recertifi ed as Wilderness First Responders.

With paid membership up, and leadership concerns in several groups taken care of, we look forward to another year of growth and great programming in 2011/2012.

As this is my fi nal Annual report, I would like to thank all the great Valley Highlands Volunteers, who have made my job so much easier over the last 3 years. You know who you are!

The enthusiasm of our youth and leaders is always great to see, and with more youth input and leadership on the Area Council, a fun and educational year is looked forward to by all!

Valley HighlandsJohn Stalker – Area Commissioner

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B-P Guild members from across Canada reacted with pleasure upon hearing the news that an agreement had been reached in May of this year, between the B-P Guilds of Canada and Scouts Canada. It acknowledges all Baden-Powell Guild members as Scouts Canada members. It is a two-tiered membership.

Category 1 is a registered B-P Guild member, a Scouts Canada member and is fully screened and is allowed to wear the Scouts Canada uniform. Category 2 is a registered B-P Guild member, a member of Scouts Canada, but is non-screened and is not allowed to wear the uniform. You will be able to recognize a Guild member in uniform as their red shirt will show the new standardized badge with the Canadian B-P Guild logo.

Our Guild continues its support of national and regional Scouting. Currently, the Judd Team helps the Scout Offi ce staff with various administrative chores, two from our Guild are members of the Committee of Friends of the Canadian Museum of Scouting, one is a member of the Council’s Recognition Team, and our Catering Team is still available for catering chores, as part of our efforts to raise funds for the Council, mainly for use with youth programmes at Camp Opemekon.

Last fall, a number of members from both our Guilds took part in the events held at the Ontario Fellowship of B-P Guilds’ Annual General Meeting in Bloomfield, Ontario.

Our own Guild’s AGM was held this year, in mid-May, at Algonquin College’s International Restaurant.

Our members continue to enjoy our fellowship events, with strong attendance at our yearly visit to the Slots, our annual Christmas party, and our annual picnic.

Two new members were invested into our Guild this year. We welcomed Marc and Coleen Charette.

Both our B-P Guilds welcome all Scouters regards of age. Members can continue to serve the Council if they so wish, they can join the service groups the Guild have (catering, offi ce chores, museum work, honours and awards), or they can just come to meetings to do nothing but enjoy the fellowship and refreshments and the various social events that we conduct. I hope you will give us some thought.

7th Canadian B-P Guild (Bytown)Bill Gibson - Guildmaster

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Council-Wide Properties• Property wardens/rangers successfully completed a workshop

in the fall.• Wardens/rangers are reporting on annual compliance

requirements including Annual Standards Checklist, Environmental Audit and Inventories.

• Schedule has also been set-up for reporting on Property Registration, Workplace Health& Safety and Environmental Checks as quarterly reports to the ED and CEO.

• Camps are also maintaining and reporting on annual usage statistics including number of calendar days camp is booked, number of campers and number of camper days.

• All camps have provided data for national committee overseeing action plan components related to camps.

Council Camp – Camp Opemikon• Camp hosted annual events including RoVent, Medic alert

Camp, RSVP Camp, Joint Council Spring Camp, EOGR, Wabano Aboriginal Centre March Break Camp, Commissioner’s Training Weekend, Schools and Scouting, Camp Adonai and summer camp program.

• Highlight of the fall was the visit of members of the World Scout Foundation during our RoVent weekend. Visitors were provided a tour of the camp highlighting historical notes, were treated to a Canadian style lunch by the OPE Crew and participated in a tree planting ceremony by His Majesty Carl XVI Gustof, King of Sweden.

• Annual spring work weekend celebrated its 11th year. Close to 200 youth and advisors provided 2,000 hours of volunteer time to support the maintenance of our council camp. Tim Taylor and Betty Shillington are to be congratulated for another excellent event.

• Examples of maintenance projects this past year include the re-alignment of the water systems in the ablutions to better direct heating and drinking source waters; replacement of septic tank at kitchen; replacement of grease trap in kitchen; new waterfront fence; new ropes storage shed (thanks to Claire and Tim Taylor); built-in bunks in all lodges; installation of convection ovens (thanks to OPE Scouting Groups for funds); and movement of Barker lodge to more stable ground.

• Program enhancements include addition of Grumman canoes to our fleet; new kayaks geared to tripping; new snowshoes to fit youth and new out-tripping tents for summer program.

• We bid farewell and good luck to our ranger Brian Gaignery and welcome our new ranger Czeslaw Kwak.

• Great thanks to the many people who support our Council camp: Friends of Opemikon who provide financial donations to support projects or program equipment purchases; the Ontario Incorporated Body for movement of Barker Lodge; Rideau Valley Conservation Authority for decommissioning of well, Ministry of Environment Inspector for assistance with new septic, Venturer Advisors’ Forum (VAF) for promotion and use of camp, ALL our user groups, our Warden and husband for countless hours of maintenance and summer camp services, members of the Opemikon Camp Committee for dedication; and to our staff behind the scenes who provide energy, expertise and support for our Council camp.

Usage stats for 2010-11 Scouting Year

Category A Category B Category C TotalCalendar Days Booked 151 44 0 195# Campers 4,758 441 0 5,199# Camper Days 17,402 2,499 0 19,901

Category A = Scouting Groups Category B = Other youth organizations Category C = Businesses

Properties & Camp Opemikon

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Marilyn Johnson – Property Manager


Growth (for 10/11)

MMS MMS %

09/10 Aug 31

Voyageur Council (Everything) 7,408 7,558 102.0%

Heritage Area 1,105 1,221 110.5%

Loyalist Area 495 544 109.9%

Valley Highlands Area 350 372 106.3%

Carleton Area 1,200 1,273 106.1%

Stormont-Glengarry Area 153 162 105.9%

Rideau Area 1,005 1,025 102.0%

Algonquin Hills Area 450 457 101.6%

Nepean Area 783 791 101.0%

Odawa Area 1,001 981 98.0%

Council Area 108 105 97.2%

Upper St.Lawrence Valley Area 364 345 94.8%

Council Operated Programs 353 245 69.4%

Voyageur “Core” Program (Areas Only) 7,014 7,276 103.7%

Council Growth

Popcorn Report 2010

Sales were $404,000. Up approximately 6% from 2009.Thanks to all Area and Group coordinators for making it happen.Special thanks to Jeff Benson and Pamela Bazinet for their behind the scenes work which made it work as smoothly as it did.

Doug Cody“The Big Popper”


Special Thanks to Dollco Printing for their donation of printing costs andNolan Smith for design and layout of the annual report.

The uniform makes for brotherhood, since when universally adopted it covers up all differences of class and country.

Robert Baden-Powell Founder of Scouting


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