Scouts NI AGM

At the AGM on 24 September 2025, Mark Spence was appointed Chair of Scouts NI, taking the scarf from Henry Brown after almost a decade of service. Henry Brown and Philip Scott BEM were thanked with engraved oak plaques for their commitment, and Scott Robinson received a Commendation Award for his work as NI Transformation Lead. We also welcomed Rosemary Forde as our new President.

Guest speakers – Nepal and Cambodia 2025
Colin and Heather Lammey gave a comprehensive report on their experience in Nepal earlier in 2025 and how they have been involved in setting up a new Scout Group in the Himalayan mountains. They also presented a letter to Chief Volunteer Stephen Bell on behalf of their Nepali partners.

We also heard from David Scott and Stephen Mallett, who shared their experiences leading the Cambodia Habitat for Humanity project, showcasing the difference made by Scouts working in partnership with local communities overseas.

The AGM wasn’t just about looking back, it was about celebrating the people who make Scouts NI such a powerful force for good. Volunteers who went above and beyond this year were recognised with awards:

Commendation Award Certificates – DofE Residential Team at Crawfordsburn (Summer 2025): Aidan Devine, Ben Meikle, Joshua Dripps, Grace Owens, Stephanie Meikle, Paul Meikle, Kayleigh Finlay, and Pamela Emerson.

Commendation Award Certificates and Badges – Cambodia Habitat for Humanity Leadership Team (Summer 2025): David Scott, Katie Thompson, Stephen Mallett, and Des Grant.

We also celebrated young people across the year who achieved Chief Scout’s Awards, King’s Scout Awards, Scouts of the World Awards and Explorer Belts, with their success marked at Belfast City Hall in January 2025.

The Board committed extra funding for the rebranded Crawfordsburn Activity Centre for the next three years to help build it into “a centre of choice” for outdoor learning and residentials, despite ongoing financial challenges at the site.

The Board set three clear priorities: quality, safety and stability. Safety remains front and centre after the inquest into a young Scout’s death and the subsequent Prevention of Future Death notice, and Scouts NI praised volunteers for their fast, thorough uptake of new safety training across the region.

Chief Volunteer Stephen Bell celebrated volunteers leading with purpose and kindness, and flagged the move to a regional structure and a digital transformation aimed at making Scouting easier to run and more relevant to young people.

New Chair Mark Spence summed it up simply: diversify our income, recruit and keep volunteers, and keep Scouting relevant to young people. Read the full Annual Report 2024-25 to find out more.