102ND Beith Scouts recently held their annual ‘Going Up’ and awards ceremony in Beith Parish Church.

Among the invited guests were Mr John L Duncan QPM, Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire and Arran; Dr Chris Brammer, Deputy Chief Commissioner for Scotland; Mr Colin Williamson, Regional Commissioner for SW Scotland; Miss Pat Campbell, Assistant Regional Commissioner, Sectional Support (Explorers); Miss Margaret Craik, Assistant Regional Commissioner (Training); Mr James Cumming, District Commissioner for North Ayrshire and Arran; Mrs Margaret Fowler, Deputy District Commissioner for North Ayrshire & Arran. The other invited guests including Mrs Margaret Fowler, Mrs Lesley Murdoch, Mrs Dorothy Taylor, Mrs Kathryn Turner, Mr Andrew McKee, Miss Jackie Tulloch, Mr Ron Lavalette and Mr Arthur Taylor. There was a large attendance by parents and friends of the 102nd Beith Scouts.

After a welcome by Mrs Kathryn Taylor, Assistant Group Scout Leader, the following Beavers were invested into the group: Calum Jackson, Reiss Dickson, Finlay Wilson, Finley Briggs, Oliver Hynd, Kaleb Caldwell, Straun Nisbet, Emelia McLean and Louis Docherty.

Beavers moving up to cubs: Adam Jarett, Lewis Boyce, Liam Muirhead, Logan Aikman, Cameron Harkins, Charlie Shaw, William Barnes. Cubs moving to Scouts: Ben McDougall, Thomas Hamilton, Aidan Brindley and Kyle Stewart. Scouts moving to Explorers: Euan Smith, Josh Neilson, Thomas Ralston, Brandon Clark and Graeme Crawford.

A large number of presentations were made during the course of the evening for a variety of achievement awards.

The Chief Scout Bronze (Beavers) was awarded to Charlie Shaw, William Barnes, Logan Aikman, Liam Muirhead, Jenson Smith, Connel Danks, Sam Trodden and Jayson McCleary. The Chief Scout Silver (Cubs) was awarded to Ben McDougall, Aidan Brindley and Kyle Stewart. The Chief Scout Gold was award to Euan Smith, Josh Neilson, Thomas Ralston, Brandon Clark and Graeme Crawford.

Mr Colin Williamson, Regional Commissioner for SW Scotland presented a Duke of Edinburgh’s bronze award to Scott Gibson whilst he was joined by Mr James Cumming, Commissioner for North Ayrshire and Arran, presented the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh’s gold award to Connor McIsaac, Conor McIlraith, Russell Boyd and Fraser Murray.

The highest award in Scouting – The Queen’s Award – which involves a huge amount of personal commitment and hard work, was personally presented by Mr John L Duncan QPM, Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire and Arran. Mr Duncan spoke about how proud he was to come along to Beith to make this special award. He congratulated all in the 102nd Beith on their outstanding progress and commitment and wished them well on their future Scouting journey.

Mr Duncan also spoke about the leaders and committee members who give so freely of their time and talents to support all the Scouts. He thanked them for their crucial volunteering role encouraged them to continue helping young people in future.

The proud recipients of the Queen’s Award were Connor McIsaac, Conor McIlraith, Russell Boyd and Fraser Murray. Each of the boys then spoke briefly about the range and variety of challenges they faced in their journey towards achieving this award and the personal satisfaction they received through their various interesting challenges.

The Silver Acorn is one of the highest awards in Scouting and available only to those who have given outstanding and exceptional service well above and beyond the call of duty. This was presented to James (Jimmy) Cumming, of 102nd Beith by Dr Chris Brammer, Deputy Chief Commissioner for Scotland.

Beith born and raised, Jimmy has been involved in Scouting from an early age, first as a Cub then through the sections when at 16 he earned an Instructors Certificate. At 18 took first warrant as Assistant Cub Scout Leader in Beith, staying in the Cub Section for 10 years, moving on to become Cub Scout Leader. With others in the group, Jimmy was instrumental in starting the Explorer Section in Beith with an inaugural nine members.

The Beith Group, with Jimmy at the helm, has provided exceptional travel and educational opportunities for Scouts since 2003. As a Group they have literally travelled the world in pursuit of Scouting objectives and enjoyment, one of the most popular locations being four visits to Disneyland Paris. Scouting and French fun parks seem to combine nicely.

The intrepid Beith Explorers have visited Russia, Canada, Iceland, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Vietnam. And the Scouts and Explorers participated in a joint trip to Poland. Small wonder that local young folk are keen to join Beith’s international Scouts to see the world by age 18!

In 2014 Explorers will be visiting Holland and Germany to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award and complete their Explorer Belt.

Beith has produced sixteen Queen Scouts and Duke of Edinburgh Gold recipients, making it a very successful group and a great achievement for a relatively small group.

In 2007, Jimmy took on the role of Deputy District Commissioner for North Ayrshire and Arran and the following year was appointed District Commissioner, a role which he has found to be rewarding and challenging, immediately overseeing the amalgamation of two districts (Cunninghame North and Cunninghame South).

He was involved in regional expedition to Kenya in 2012 where the group worked in a school for children with special needs. Jimmy said: “Everyone enjoyed interacting with the children as well as building desks, creating a football field and carrying out general maintenance of the school. It was a great experience for everyone involved and humbling to see the poverty of the region at first hand.” Jimmy’s volunteering and leadership role was acknowledged when he received Award of Merit for Scouting in 2007.

Now in his 19th year as a leader, having taken two years out whilst working in London, he loves Beith where he was raised and attended Beith Primary then Garnock Academy. He studied Chemical and Process Engineering at Strathclyde University and started working life with Jacobs Engineering in Glasgow.

Moving to London in 1998 to work for Tate and Lyle, this job involved international travel to places such as Nigeria, Sudan, Romania, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and India. Perchance this is where the aspirational seeds of travel for Beith Scouts were born.

After two years he moved back to Scotland to work for Kvaerner and moving back to the area and working for DSM in Dalry before returning to work in his current job for Jacobs Engineering in Glasgow. This involves projects from Nuclear to Pharmaceutical to Petrochemical. However, Scouting is right at the centre of Jimmy’s life but he does occasionally find time for, surprise surprise – travelling – and playing squash.

On receiving the Silver Acorn award, a delighted Jimmy explained: “Scouting doesn’t come without it’s challenges, but I have loved every minute of it and it’s a great honour to be presented with the Silver Acorn.

“I’m very proud of what has been achieved in 102nd Beith over the years and indeed in the Scouting movement in North Ayrshire and Arran. I would also like to thank my fellow Scout volunteers and indeed everyone in the 102nd for allowing me the honour of giving back to Scouting because it gave me so much.” Everyone will join in heartily congratulating Jimmy on his quite outstanding service to Scouting in Beith and indeed right across North Ayrshire and Arran. Well done, Jimmy and best wishes for the future.