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Welcome to the first of our 'Development Points' Newsletter and to 2004! I am sure that you all have had at least a short break from Scouting and are ready to continue to provide 'Better Scouting for more young people'.

Who is the newsletter for?

What will the newsletter be about?

Snowdonia & Anglesey

North Tameside District (East Manchester)

Out with the old and in with the new

This document is also available as an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file: dp-2004-01.pdf

The newsletter was requested by a group of locally employed Development Officers in order that they could begin to share their successes, but really the newsletter could be for anyone who is involved or interested in growing and developing our Movement.

The newsletter will be about celebrating success, YES, growing our Movement can and is being carried out all around the country. New Sections, new Groups, more adult Leaders and more young people!

We want you to share what you have done or are doing to make this happen, whether you live in a small village, a town or city and whatever your appointment is.

The newsletter will also promote any resources that are available for you to use in promoting Scouting, to support you in Shouting for Scouting or even to tell what resources or crafty ideas others have came up with in their local area - why reinvent the wheel when someone else has done so?

So it is very much over to you. We would love to have enough to produce a newsletter every month, so don't be shy!

• New Beaver Scout Colony opens in Colwyn Bay with 25 Beaver Scouts and 13 Leaders/Helpers. Already looking forward to opening a Cub Scout Pack as the Beaver Scouts come of age - forward planning!

• Have adopted the Kent Scoutmate scheme in the area and will be launch at the Programme workshop in February.

• Two new Leaders recruited during December.

• Planning a Shouting 4 Scouting Week later in the year and have been provided some promotional space at the local Asda store.

• Launched new free District website www.northtamesidescouts.ik.com Email Paul Smith, Development Officer for details.

• During December, set up a new Beaver and Cub Scout Sections, recruiting 24 Beaver Scouts, 12 Cub Scouts and 2 new Leaders.

Congratulation and best wishes must go to Debbie Ladds who after 19 years service at Gilwell Park, left to join a charity called Whizz Kids as their Director of Children's Services. Debbie started her time supporting the set up of the Beaver Scout section before joining the Adult Training team and the Community Development team, before becoming Assistant Director with responsibility for the Field Development Team. We all wish Debbie well in her new role and am sure that she will be a credit to that organisation.

We welcome Paul Wilkinson to his new role as Assistant Director (Development), responsible for managing the Field Development Service. As Paul settles into his new role, I am sure you will have many opportunities to meet him. Paul is no stranger to us, as he already held an Assistant Director role in the P&D dept and had been leading the work on Diversity.

We also welcome Julie Wolstenholme to the Field Development Service. Julie replaces Susan Robertson who has left the Association for a retirement in Norfolk. Julie will take over the administration of the Start Up Grants that so many of you make use of.

So here's to 2004 and no doubt, a busy year!