This in from Suzanne. Ed
After Janet Lovell ended her term of office last summer Girlguiding IW members have had a caretaking Island Commissioner, Miss Deborah Meadows, whilst a new Island Commissioner has been sought.
This appointment is made by the South West England Region Chief Commissioner Solange Rebours and Solange was pleased to appoint from the 1st March 2015, and for a period of five years, Shirley Saunders.
Sandown assistant leader
Shirley (pictured right) lives in Sandown and is assistant leader of 5th Sandown Brownies. She will continue with this role as well as holding the post of Island Commissioner. Shirley is no stranger to Girlguiding having been Guiding for over 20 years.
She moved to the Island two years ago to be closer to her mother, who had lived here for 30 years until she died recently. Since moving to the Isle of Wight Shirley has been Tawny Owl of 5th Sandown Brownies. Prior to her move to the Island her Guiding experience was in Milton Keynes where she was a Brownie Leader, Division Commissioner and Trustee.
Shirley said
“I am very much looking forward to my new role as Island Commissioner and would like to thank all members who I have met so far for the warm welcome I have received. My vision is to build on the ambition of my predecessors, bring the island closer together and help Girlguiding on the Island continue to grow.”
In an introductory letter to leaders Shirley said,
“I would like to thank you all for the time and effort you all put into your units and Guiding on the Island in general and look forward to working with you all during my time in office.”
Over 1,000 members on the Island
With well over 1,000 members Girlguiding IW is part of the largest female organisation in the UK and World. Over 600,000 members regularly attend meetings and events in the UK which is divided into Countries and Regions.
The Island forms part of the South West England Region which includes the Channel Islands and Isles of Scilly as well as the mainland counties in this area of the UK totalling 16 counties in all.
Within SW England over 64,000 girls and young women are provided with a regular Guiding experience, made possible by the efforts of some 15,000 volunteers.
Assistant role for Lesley
Following her appointment, Shirley has appointed Lesley Clifford (pictured left) , also from Sandown, as Assistant Island Commissioner.
Lesley will also hold this appointment for five years.
Reception at Mary Rose Museum
One of the first official engagements for Shirley and Lesley was to attend a reception hosted by Solange Rebours and her Region team. This evening reception was held at the Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth and guests included heads of business, civic dignitaries form Hampshire as well as members of the wider community.
At the reception a short video entitled ‘Discovering Your Potential’ emphasised how would-be employees who can demonstrate life experiences and skills have an advantage.
Testimonials from five adults from various companies gave credence to Girlguiding as a good grounding for employment. Solange then introduced another video which gave a good flavour of how girls in Guiding regularly have a wide range of activities and pursuits to take part in.
A busy year
2014 saw the Big Brownie Birthday celebrating the centenary of the Brownies, a third video showed just what the Brownies had been doing during the celebrations with a number of the slides showing the Isle of Wight’s celebrations especially the Masked Ball held at Cowes Yacht Haven and enjoyed by most of the Island’s 600 Brownies.
Come 2016 the Senior Section of Girlguiding (for young women aged 14-26) will be celebrating its 100 years. Exciting plans for activities on the Island are well under way.
