As our Scout Groups reopen for the year, I want to welcome all of you back to the amazing adventure that will be 2015!

2014 was a year of change and developments for us all. Our new Chief Scout was inaugurated, the National positions were filled and the new Exco instated. Over 6,000 of our children and youths attended Environmental Education Camps nationwide and our new national website and Scoutswiki resource database for members were launched.  We look forward to the contributions you can all make to share your knowledge with us all over ScoutsWiki.  We were also able to introduce the i.SCOUT range to the SA market and launched our online shop.  We have already had a lot of interest in these products!  These are just some of our developments and successes of 2014, and I am sure you all have many of your own to share!

This year we will strive to continue this trend of innovation and rollout of value adding functions for you all.  In this first quarter we are in the process of concluding the policies that will bring the full replacement of the old P&OR into place. I want to personally welcome comments from you all on the drafts as they are circulated for comments.

Scouting founder Lord Baden Powell stated that “The most worth-while thing we can do is to try to put happiness into the lives of others.” As we start our new Scouting year let’s strive to do just that. Let’s enjoy our Cub, Scout and Rover meetings, adventures and camps. Let’s get out there and serve our communities and smile and whistle under all circumstances!

Yours in Scouting,

Dr Brendon Hausberger
Chief Commissioner
SCOUTS South Africa