The Way Forward – I hope you all saw the outcome of the Boundary Review and know that with effect from 1^st April 2012 we will have 7 Districts within South East Region as follows:  East Lothian, Midlothian, Borders, Pentland, Haymarket/Inverleith, Portobello/Leith, Morningside/Blackford.

An e-mail has been distributed on the 1^st November to ask for nominations for Haymarket/Inverleith and Morningside/Blackford. Colin Hyslop has been confirmed as DC for Portobello/Leith on the basis of his recent appointment to Leith being underpinned by the proposed changes.  Colin Liddle as indicated a wish to move out of the DC role in Pentland next year so we are taking the opportunity to seek nominations for this role at the same time as the other two.

The Boundary Implementation Advisory Group have met three times and are well on the way to providing action plans to support the changes. An FAQ document is available on the website which will be updated and is sent as a paper copy to those who receive the newsletter in this format.

Thanks to all who attended the AGM last Thursday night. We received excellent feedback particularly relating to Hannah and Cat [World Jamboree in Sweden], Jamie and Sorcha [the New Horizons Expedition to Malawi] who gave very confident and poised presentations on their trips. Presentations like this remind us why we joined the family of scouting, we were all very proud of them.

The AGM was John Kennedy’s last one as Regional Chair and I would like to record my thanks to John for all his support over the last few years and wish him well in his new role as Honorary Treasurer at SHQ.

That also leads to a big welcome to Dick Allan who was confirmed as the new Regional Chair. Dick comes well recommended, his background and experience will stand him in good stead in this role and I very much look forward to working with him.

Not long now till Gang Show opens its doors at the Kings Theatre …..so please get your tickets now !

As I said in the Annual Report I have been very impressed this year with the willingness of many people to support change and the recognition that whilst change can be difficult, it is needed from time to time to ensure that we keep up with the changing needs of society and young people.

Thank you all for your continued support

Dorothy McKinney

Regional Commissioner