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Read what the Captain has had to say in his annual report. These are delivered as part of the Annual Open Night. Please note the reports have beed edited to comply with our privacy policy.

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Captain's Annual Report

Previous Years Reports

2004

2005

Session 2002-2003

I'm going to start this years report by blowing our own trumpet a bit. The boys have excelled themselves in the Battalion competitions this year and I'm very proud of them and what they have achieved. We hold Championships in no less than 4 different sports and were runners-up in a further 5 competitions. We won the GMB Swimming Shield for the 2nd year running. In Table Tennis we won the Junior singles and doubles Championships. We won the Junior X-country and our lad went on to come 6th overall, representing the Battalion in the Scottish National finals in Glasgow. We were also beaten finalists in the Intermediate 5-a-side football and in the Seniors table tennis doubles. So you can see we have good reason to be proud of our boys' performance this year. Lets see if they can defend them all successfully next year.

The Company Section continue to be a brilliant bunch to work with. They are keen, enthusiastic, well behaved and fun to lead. This year numbers stood at 18 boys, just 1 down on last year. We recorded attendance on 28 weeks with 3 boys achieving a 100% attendance record. A further 6 missed less than 3 weeks. Overall Company attendance ran at 87%, which is up on last year. Of the 28 weeks there were only 6 where more than 3 boys were missing. These are very good figures and they give us the encouragement that we must be doing things right.

Last summer I received an e-mail via our web site from Simon McNeill and he came to join us as an officer in September. Simon has settled in very well and clicked straight away with both boys & staff. He has brought with him some new ideas and a fresh viewpoint on the things we do. He has recently become involved at Battalion level advising on the setting up of a senior's forum to improve activities for the older boys. I, myself, too have been very busy in the Battalion through Company Section meetings and in being Battalion Activity Officer for both Table Tennis & Unihoc. Our Company was also 1 of 14 who replied to a plea for ideas & suggestions over the usage of the Aberdeen HQ building. A decision on its future will be taken in June. Martin & Ewan have again both worked hard for the Company this year taking on more responsibility than ever. Ewan has arranged all the boys' awards and managed the tuck shop. He is also the Company's Queens Badge advisor. This year Martin has ran the Fantasy Football competition, the intersquad & Squad Medal competitions and also organized the bowling night. There is a lot of extra work which goes on behind the scenes and I'm grateful to them both for taking this on with enthusiasm. Special thanks to all 3 of my officers.

Some other highlights from last session. In July we returned to Orkney for summer camp. We had a brilliant week with good weather and lots of fun. This year we are under canvas for a weekend in Aviemore. Back in November we had the popular Burger 'n' Bowling night and in December we had our 2nd Dark Theme Night, when all the games are played in the dark or by torchlight. March saw our annual Boys v's Dads challenge night this time in conjunction with Comic Relief. The Dads won again, extending their lead to 3-1. Three of our senior boys have gained their Presidents badge this year and I'm delighted that two of them have decided to go on and work for their Queens Badge. There are some interesting things happening for senior boys next year and in particular the Seniors Challenge. Run by Scottish HQ, its aimed at all senior boys. Under the scheme they must complete a number of challenges from a possible list of 100 for Bronze, Silver & Gold awards. This is something I think will test the boys and so our Company is adopting it for the seniors to do during the weekly badge classes.

Our 40Four magazine is still popular, and so for this months edition we are increasing its circulation dramatically. In last Mays' magazine we included a questionnaire to poll the boys about current & future BB activities. We have reviewed and acted upon the returns and during the year have tried out new badge classes ideas (e.g. model making, arts projects and a class on the internet). As a result of the boys feedback we are having a canvas camp this year and are going on a summer hillwalk. We have ran more competitions including table tennis and art & design. During the year we tried out some new games and you have seen 2 of the favorites earlier tonight. We are looking to make more changes and additions based on those questionnaires for next year. Another important poll we carried out this year was over the future of BB hats. Hats are only an option in the new style BB uniform and so we decided to ask the boys if they wanted to keep wearing their hats or not. The response was an overwhelming 'yes' so for the time being we will continue to wear hats as part of our uniform in the 44th.

In closing then, I'd like to thank our Chaplain, Rev. John Anderson and the Kirk Session for their encouragement during the past year. Can I also say thanks to Stiubhart, who again this year has produced and delivered all our Bible Class material, bringing God's Word to the boys in his own exceptional style. Special thanks too, for my wife, Heather, who has to put up with all the extra BB work I do at home and whose advice is always invaluable. And finally can I thank you, the parents and grand-parents for your help in supporting the Company this past year and for turning out the boys so well each week. I'm looking forward to the challenges of the coming session. We have 3 Queens Badge candidates to help develop into young leaders, a bunch of new Primary 7 recruits joining us and of course we have to maintain activities which are challenging, interesting and fun for all our boys. I'm confident that we will. Thank you all very much.

Dave Tait
Captain

Session 2001-2002

I'll start off with a short review of last summer's activities. We were lucky enough to obtain the services of Aberdeen Football Club's youth coach, Drew Jarvie, and along with some of his youth team we had a great training evening last May at Harlaw. Our usual abseiling event took place at Cove in June and the annual BBQ was in September. For camp last year we went for a weekend under canvas at the Guide Association site at Ladenford, near Forfar. We all enjoyed the tenting experience and especially the outdoor cooking on wood fires. Last September however the BB Camp and Holiday regulations were tightened which means future canvas camps will now require additional staff qualifications.

The start of the new session sadly saw the loss of a larger number of boys than usual, most without any reason we could put our finger on. Its frustrating when previously enthusiastic boys suddenly loose interest over the holidays. To try and stop the same thing from happening again this year we are addressing one area over which we do have control our programme. To this end I am issuing a questionnaire inside our 40Four magazine, which every boy will receive in their awards envelope later. As well as gaining feedback and opinions on what we already do the boys can see, and will have a say in, the new activities we are thinking about for the coming 2 BB sessions and so they'll know there's something different to look forward to at BB's after the summer. Please encourage the boys to fill these in honestly and return them to me by the end of May. There is a prize draw for those who do. Unfortunately we will get no new recruits from the Junior Section this year and so it heightens the importance of retaining everyone's interest for next year. We will, of course, be trying to recruit new members over the summer and the boys will receive some suggestions as to how they can help later in the summer.

So we end this session with 19 boys, which is 2 down on this time last year. We recorded attendance on 27 weeks with 4 boys gaining a 100% record. A further 5 missed less than 3 weeks. The Company average was 85% and so these figures tell us that we must be doing something right. The boys are a very good bunch, they get on well together (coming from so many different areas and schools as they do) and we have no major behavior problems to speak of.

I'd like to mention a few of the highlights from last year. Back in March we had the 3rd annual Boys vs Dads night. The Dads won again for the second year in a row. My thanks to all the Dads who came along. My only regret is that I didn't have a camera for the end results of the newspaper fancy dress costume making competition. This year there have been 2 nights wholly planned and ran by the senior boys. It was good to see them tackling these leadership roles and the second night improved on the first as they got a handle on it. The boys have done a variety of badge work over the session including mountain safety, crime prevention, arts and health & fitness. Two of our senior boys managed to achieve their Presidents Badge this session and we're delighted to have more Presidents men in the Company. A Presidents Badge article appears in the 40Four magazine and hopefully this will inspire the other boys to continue to work towards this top award.

We have done well in Battalion competitions this year. In November we became Battalion swimming champions winning this marvelous shield. All the swimmers made contributions but special mention must be made of the two boys who both won their respective age group championships. The 44th also had teams in the basketball, table tennis and 5-a-side where our intermediate team came 3rd. At cross country too we had success with one of our seniors coming 4th in his age group and he went on to help the Aberdeen Battalion intermediate team to come 3rd in the Scottish National competition, held in Aberdeen this year.

Last August the church took on a full time youth worker and Stiubhart has been very involved with us ever since. Christian education is a fundamental part of the Boys' Brigade - the first line of the BB object is "The advancement of Christ's Kingdom Among Boys." so I'm very grateful to Stiubhart for bringing God's Word to the boys in so many different ways. We look forward to more of the same next year. The Company continues to be involved in church life in other ways too for example in the youth dedication service and by doing door duty.

I am greatly indebted to my staff, Ewan & Martin. Both were presented with their officers warrant at last June's Battalion Council and since then have gone on to receive further training in child protection and holiday leadership. I would not be able to run the Company without them. My special thanks to them both.

So we come full circle again. Another summer program is ready - details are included in the award envelopes and we have Orkney camp to look forward to in July. However the challenge will come after the summer and as I've already said we need to try and consolidate on numbers. Hopefully with the results from the questionnaires we can introduce some new activities and improve on what we already do with the aim of keeping the boys challenged and interested. We'll see what happens.

So, just before I finish can I give you all a reminder about our coffee morning on Saturday 18th May. For those who have said they will help, thank you very much and I have included some further details for you in the boys' award envelopes. The same goes for the boys who didn't reply - the extra info is included incase they can help. We'll need some boys to come along next Friday from 7.30pm for an hour or so to get the hall set up and of course donations of home baking, bric-a-brac, toys and plants can be dropped off then as well. If anyone would like tickets some will be on sale from the tuck shop at the end of the night.

Finally then I'd just like to thank our Chaplain, Rev. John Anderson and the Kirk Session for the ongoing support we receive from the church. And also to my wife, Heather, who is always the first on hand to provide advise and help if its needed. Of course my thanks must also go to you too, the parents and grandparents, for your help in supporting the Company in the many ways you do and for turning the boys out so well each week. Please keep it up again next year.

Thank you all very much.

Dave Tait
Captain

Session 2000 - 2001

I'll start off this years report with a review of last summer's activities. Our camp was just a weekend one but it was a first for the Company in visiting the Bigfoot Outdoor Centre at Strathdon. It was a great experience with the boys, and staff, taking part in climbing, abseiling, archery, cycling and the highlight on Sunday - a 3hour gorge walk in the sunshine at the Linn O'Dee. Our own local abseiling session at Cove went ahead at the 3rd attempt due to the weather and we also had our annual BBQ at Drumoak.

We have had another busy session with a good variety of activities & badge classes for the boys but things haven't been helped by staffing problems. We lost Torquil during the summer last year and then Jonathan in February when he moved back down to Helensburgh. Despite this we have managed and I'm very grateful to both Martin & Ewan who have been a tremendous help taking on extra roles in the Company. Both of them have now completed the Brigade Officer Training and will be formally appointed as Lieutenants at the Battalion Council meeting in June. Ewan has also gone on to become a qualified BB first aider. My thanks to both of them.

Now some Company statistics for you. We finished this year with 21 boys (just plus 1 on this time last year). We'll discharge only 1 tonight and hope to see 6/7 new recruits start after the summer. We recorded attendance on 28 weeks and had 2 boys with a 100% record and a further 5 boys missing only 1 week. The Company average was 87%, slightly up on last year. On average we had 18 boys each week, except on the night we had our elders visit when for some reason only 11 of them were there. Maybe they knew. Anyway, that blip aside, these are very encouraging figures. The Boys continue to be a joy to lead and we have, in the main, no real behavior problems.

I'd like to mention some of this year's highlights. Our busiest month was March. We had a Boy's v's Dad's challenge night (and the Dads won), a Dark Theme Night, when all the games were in the dark or by torchlight and also a fundraising night for Comic Relief. We are always experimenting with new ideas and have tried several this year with varying success. One of the better ones was an RC skills night when the boys had to maneuver their remote controlled cars around an obstacle course then show off their tricks in a freestyle display. Certainly a new experience for us this year was guiding Alex Bertram through his Queens Badge program and for the first time in a many, many years we now have a Queens Badge to present later tonight. This is the top award in the BB and is the result of a good deal of hard work, some of it in the Company but a lot of it in the wider community. I have also managed to track down one of the very first Queens Men in the 44th and we're delighted that Mr Alex Forbes is able to be here tonight as our special guest to present our latest Queens Man with his award.

The Company continues to be involved in the life of the Church with another well received dedication service in January. This year the theme was 'Heroes' and some of our boys took part in the 'David & Goliath' sketch we put on. In March we were in church to provide some 'junior office bearers' to man the door and the Company paraded twice, on Remembrance Sunday and again for the dedication service. We have followed the Battalion Christian Education syllabus with several different ministers taking Bible classes for us and I'm grateful to our own Chaplain for his help with this. Thank you John.

There didn't seem to be so many Battalion competitions this year but we entered our usual selection of them. We retained our Junior Championship in the swimming. All our swimmers did well and managed to take the Company team to 3rd overall. The 5-a-side teams didn't do so well being knocked out at the league stage and the basketball team had a similar fate. The Battalion has reviewed its competitions and polled Companies for suggestions. As a result we are looking forward to some new events next year.

So to next session and the ongoing challenge for us is, as ever, to keep up the pace, capturing the interest of the boys, and providing fun and interesting activities for them to do. We have a short summer program, which starts next week with football training and we restart a new session on the 24th August. Full details have already been handed out but there is also a summary in the magazine.

I've already thanked my staff, Ewan & Martin, and also our Chaplain, Rev. John Anderson, but I'd also like to express my thanks to Heather, my wife, who is a great provider of advice and support and of course to you the parents & grandparents who turn the boys out so well each week and for your help supporting the Company through the year in various ways. I hope we can rely on you next year as we do it all over again.

Thank you all very much.

Dave Tait
Captain

Session 1999-2000

This is a first for me as at this time in the evening I am usually through the back pushing the boys to get changed & ready quickly. So I have never heard any of John Allan's Captain's reports so have had to start mine with a blank sheet. My report starts off with a short review of last summers activities. We had our annual camp in Orkney and it turned out to be one of the best we have had there. The weather was brilliant, the boys were well behaved and we all had a great time. Also last summer we had an abseiling session at Cove, a BBQ in the sun at Drumoak and 10 pin bowling as usual in August before the restart.

This has been my first year as Company Captain and its been a very busy & full session but successful & fun for us all as well.

Some Company statistics for you. We finished the year with 20 boys (plus 2 on last year). Potential numbers for next session are plus 5 on current numbers. We had 4 boys this year with 100% attendance and the Company average was 85%. This is very encouraging for us as it show we must be getting the mix and style of activities right. We still have a young Company (average age is 12.5) but they are a great bunch and in general are well behaved.

As I said its been a busy year - here are some of the highlights. Another successful year for Division 44 our fantasy football competition, this year dominated by one boy. As usual we had our Christmas party and the showing of the Orkney video. In February we held a Boy's V's Dad's competition, it was a fun night with the Boys winning narrowly. This year too we have been involved the Brigade's 'Lifeboats for 2000' appeal. All sections took part in raising the fantastic total of �538.20. Next session our fundraising plans will be nearer to home as the financial burden on the Company grows with changes at local & national level. We have introduced a lot of new games to the boys both team & individual. This year has also seen the start of a new annual chess tournament for The Anderson Trophy. Our first winner had to take on Rev. Anderson in a head to head match as part of his 'prize'. He lost !! In March we took the majority of the Company to Edinburgh by train for a day trip. A great day out. For the first time in a few years we have 2 boys gaining their Presidents badge and we're delighted that both will continue to be involved in the Company. One is to join us next year as a member of staff and the other has decided to go on an work for his Queens badge, the first in the 44th for a long, long time.

The Company continues to be involved in the life of the Church with a new style dedication service in January and some door duty in March welcoming all the congregation to church one Sunday. We have been involved this year in the Battalion Christian Education competition with several ministers taking Bible classes for us. We had 12 boys take the exam, one of the hardest in years, 6 passed.

As usual we take part in many Battalion competitions including this year swimming (where we won the Junior Championship), 5-a-side (where our team came 3rd), table tennis, basketball, seniors 10-pin bowling & grass bowls (where we won the Championship and a 3rd place).

Looking forward to next session the challenge for us will be to keep up the standard of this year, providing interesting and varied activities for the boys. We have a shorter summer program this year and details are in our Company magazine 'The 40Four'. We are introducing the new BB uniform for next years recruits. This was not an easy decision to take and we are all sad to see the '1963' uniform go. However it is the will of the whole Brigade in the UK and in a poll of our own boys the majority wanted to change over sooner rather than later. We have to take their views seriously and so are starting to move the Company over to the new style from next session.

The Internet is becoming more and more important to us as a communication tool (all my officers and around half the boys/parents have e-mail). We are involved in the UK BB e-mail discussion group and our own web site continues to do well. We have had nearly 4000 hits to date. I'm currently working on redesigning the whole site and upgrading the content so watch out for its relaunch after the summer at a new address www.40four.co.uk.

Finally I'd like to publicly thank my officers Torquil, Martin & Jonathan for all their hard work, help and support over the year, also to my Chaplain, Rev. John Anderson, for taking some of our Bible classes and as ever being available to me whenever it was needed and lastly to you the parents & grandparents who turn the boys out so well each week and for the extra help needed in transporting and supervising the boys when the staff are not able at Battalion activities. I hope I can continue to rely on your support for that.

Thank you very much.

Dave Tait
Captain