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Time to say goodbye

Today (31st January) sees the term of office as County Commissioner for Graham Phillips come to an end after nearly 12 years leading Scouting in Cheshire. Here he reflects on the last 12 years at the helm of one of the largest Scout Counties in England.

I have always believed that if you take the time to volunteer It should be for something you enjoy and genuinely believe you can make a positive contribution towards the organisation that you are supporting. Scouting has been part of my life since I was a young boy so the opportunity to lead Scouting in Cheshire as County Commissioner was always going to be a great honour.  Everything that has been achieved in Cheshire over the last 12 years has been the result of a team effort, usually a pretty small team of dedicated individuals who have been prepared to support Scouting in Cheshire.

For me there will be two distinct areas of memories. Firstly, it will be the young people I have met and, in many cases, the extraordinary achievements I have witnessed. There are those who have become doctors, teachers, scientists, those who have followed their dreams into performing arts and of course those who have stayed in the County and developed their own unique career path. There is much talk currently about how Scouting provides young people with skills for life, it’s really good to see that the UK is catching up with what has been happening in Cheshire for many years!

Secondly it will be the inspiring adults I have had the pleasure of working with to support the delivery of Scouting across Cheshire. Many of these people hold multiple roles, give many hours to Scouting and are usually always up for another challenge. It is only with the support and dedication of these people that Cheshire has been able to achieve all the things it has achieved for young people.

There are too many people to name individually who have been part of the team that has supported me over the last 12 years, but I want each and every one of them to know that I appreciate the time, effort and enthusiasm they have given me. The one person I really do want to thank is my wife Debbie, she has always supported me in the County Commissioner role, maybe more importantly allowed me to be the County Commissioner!

I leave the County in very good hands with Dave Hopley as your new County Commissioner and although I appreciate that the last 12 months have been very difficult, I also believe that as we return to a more normal life the need for young people to be involved in Scouting will be greater than ever. I also believe that Cheshire will be one of the counties playing a leading part in rebuilding Scouting and setting an example for the rest of the country.

It has been a blast!
Thank you to everybody who has supported me, and it goes without saying that I wish Cheshire Scouting every possible success in the future.

Graham Phillips