Gilwell Reunion 2002:  Words of welcome 

Let me add my words of welcome to everyone else’s.   Whether this is your first visit to Gilwell, or whether you’re a seasoned ‘Reunionite’, hardened to the late nights and early mornings of the weekend, I hope you take away some brilliant ideas for use in your day to day Scouting and have a great time in the process.
 
Think about ‘Shouting for Scouting’.    Look for ways that we can let everyone know more about the brilliant Movement to which we belong.    If we can spread our message widely, I believe more people will get rid of their ‘fuddy duddy’ preconceptions of Scouting and come and join us as Leaders.    And, if we can remember to tell our own members about some of the great things that are going on in Scouting – and thank them too for what they’re doing – we might hold on to people for longer as well.
 
Think about getting ‘Round Pegs in Round Holes’.    We don’t always make the best of the people we’ve got in Scouting.   Sometimes we ask people to give up doing things they really enjoy to take on a job they’d really rather not do.   Sometimes we demand too much of people and then complain when they don’t deliver.   (I believe that, for many people, Scouting really should only take up two hours a week – or even two hours a month if that’s all they can offer!)     And sometimes we give people jobs for the wrong reasons; not because they’re the best person to take on a role, but because they’ve served longer than anyone else, or we haven’t thought about giving someone else a chance.    If we can get the right people doing the right jobs, we’ll all be happier and our young people will benefit.
 
Think about finding ‘Scouting in Unexpected Places’.   I believe it’s time to take a deep breath and say that all young people deserve the opportunity to try Scouting.   Of course it won’t suit everyone, but I’d hate to think we put up barriers to joining, often without meaning to do so.   I think we need to work harder to recruit members from diverse ethnic backgrounds and religions, those with disabilities, those who might come from what some people perceive as the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ – and even those who make up 50% of the population and just happen to be girls and young women!    And I don’t think we can just expect those young people to find us.  We have to go out and look for them.
 
Enjoy Reunion – and go home refreshed and rejuvenated; ready to work over the next year to create Better Scouting for More Young People.
 
 
 
John May
Chairman, Programme and Development