Bermuda Scout Association
| Bermuda Scout Association | |||
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| Location | P.O. Box DV 193, Devonshire DVBX | ||
| Country | Bermuda | ||
| Membership | 392[1] | ||
| Chief Scout | H E George Fergusson Governor of Bermuda | ||
| Chief Commissioner | Geoffrey Rothwell | ||
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The Bermuda Scout Association operates as a branch of the United Kingdom Scout Association, due to Bermuda's status as a British Overseas Territory. The Bermudian Scout Oath and Law, as well as other Scouting requirements, closely follow that of the United Kingdom.
Although the program activities are taken from the British system, Bermuda Scouting is geared to the local way of life. Training for Wood Badge and leader training are conducted with the help of British and nearby affiliated Scout associations. Bermuda Scouts participate in numerous camps and events, and Bermuda fields a contingent to World Scout Jamborees. The Scout emblem incorporates elements of the coat of arms of Bermuda.
The Bermuda Scout Association is governed by a Chief Scout, a Chief Commissioner, and an executive committee. In May 2012, George Fergusson, Governor of Bermuda was appointed Chief Scout. In March 2012, Dr. Geoffrey Rothwell was named Chief Commissioner.
Programmes and activities
Both Cub Scout and Boy Scout programmes are offered. Bermuda Scouts in recent years have attended Scout summer camps in the United Kingdom as well as Pennsylvania and North Carolina in the United States. Visiting troops from the Boy Scouts of America have also been hosted at the Scout Association's Admiral House facility and grounds in 2002 and 2003.
A popular Association-wide annual event is a weekend camporee on Darrell's Island. Another event is the "Budding Chef" activity, when Scouts compete in cooking skills.[2]
A major island-wide event each year is the observance of Saint George's Day in April, honoring the patron saint of the Scouting movement.[3] As in the United Kingdom, troops participate in a parade on Front Street in Hamilton on the nearest Sunday to April 23 and attend a Scout service at one of Bermuda's churches, where a message from the Chief Scout is read and the Scout Hymn is sung. A "renewal of promise" then takes place where the Scouts renew the Scout's Promise made at joining and at all Scout meetings. The service concludes with the singing of God Save the Queen.[4]
History
When the Boy Scout Association was formed in Great Britain in 1910 by the grant of a charter by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Scouting began that same year in Bermuda as well, with the Governor of Bermuda serving as Chief Scout.[1] Robert Baden-Powell (the founder of Scouting and Guiding) and Olave Baden-Powell (influential leader of Guiding) visited Bermuda in 1930. Olave visited again in 1951 and 1954. The British contingent to the 14th World Scout Jamboree in 1975, led by Robert Baden-Powell, 3rd Baron Baden-Powell, included Scouts from Branches in Bermuda, Hong Kong and Rhodesia. In 1993, the instrumental role of the Scout Association of Bermuda and Girlguiding Bermuda in developing many of the islands prominent leaders was recognized by the Bank of Bermuda Centennial Trust.[5]
In 2004, Bermuda's Scouts participated in a 12-mile (19 km) walk to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Ivan in the Caribbean.[6] The Category 5 storm caused extensive in Grenada, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cuba. In 2006, five Bermuda Scouts travelled to Romania to work on a housing project for the impoverished people there, as part of a Bermuda Overseas Missions and Habitat for Humanity International joint effort.[7]
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Scouting's founding in the United Kingdom by Baden-Powell, the Bermuda Post Office issued a series of six "Scouting 2007 commemorative stamps", including scenes of Baden-Powell's visit to Bermuda in February, 1930. The stamps show Scouting's founder inspecting Cub Scouts on Front Street in Hamilton and reviewing Boy Scouts on parade there.[8]
See also
References
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- ↑ St. George's Day Programme—Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, Bermuda Scout Association, 25 April 2004.
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