Lochgilphead Scouts receive top award
FOUR Scots from 19th Argyll branch have received their Gold Chief Scout Award following four years of hard work.
Scouts MJ O’Meara, Daniel Doherty, Alasdair Toner and Lucas Gritten decided to have the award presented by chairman John McCartan at the top of Dunadd on Tuesday March 27.
They were joined by their fellow Scouts, as well as their leaders, parents and siblings.
The boys have worked towards the award, learning a range of skills, taking on mentoring roles and regularly attending troop camps.
They also recently completed the 20-mile Snowdrop Challenge Hike in challenging weather conditions.
Scout Leader David Smart said: ‘We are immensely proud of these Scouts – it has been fantastic to see how they have grown and developed in the past four years.
‘The presentation of these awards is a means of recognising their outstanding achievements. We hope that they continue their time in Scouting by joining our Explorer Group.’
The 19th Argyll Unit has grown in size to approximately 70 boys and girls.
Most recently 12 Scouts attended a camp focused on Earth Hour and considered the actions they and the unit could take to reduce their impact on the planet.
Norway
In summer two members of the unit are attending the international camp at Blair Atholl, with 22 of the group welcoming 38 Scouts from Norway to the Scout and Explorer summer camp being held at Barrwood, near Stirling.
Eight members of the unit are also off to Malaysia in 2019 to work on a number of environmental and community projects, with a further two members off to North America in the summer of 2019 to take part in the 24th World Scout Jamboree.
John McCartan, chairman of the group said: ‘We work hard to ensure that we provide an outstanding experience for the young people who join the group.
‘We are always looking for leaders to join the team to help us develop and run an interesting and varied programme of activities.’
The group meet at the Lochgilphead Community Centre on Tuesday evenings throughout term time. For more information contact 19thargyllscouts@ gmail.com.