SSAGO Blog

November 2022 update

Nicholas Bond, Secretary

Wednesday 16th of November 2022

Report

• Life: Not *lots* has happened this past month or two, since I've been busy graduating, moving city, and starting a job. All has now settled again, and I've still managed to squeeze some things in recently...
• Autumn Reps: Over the past few weeks I have been doing the legwork setting up Autumn Reps.
• Emails: as usual, I've been keeping on top of my ever-growing inbox. Not to mention constantly approving everyone else's! Now that I have a regular 9-5 job I have limited times of day at which to respond and approve emails,
• NANs: I'm pleased with the number of NAN forms that have been crossing my inbox, even if I've not been the quickest in responding to them. They are generally completed well; a small clarification regarding timescales has been proposed at this Reps.
• Team Pink Meetings: I have been encouraging the return to regular meetings and ensuring agendas, minutes etc exist for each: I've also cleared a small backlog of minutes that had built up, which should allow me to be quicker moving forwards.

Aims

• Policy Tidy-Up: following Rali Crymru I plan to work with Policy Fixers to bring some consistency to the various policy folders spread around SSAGO.
• Project Revitalisation: much work has been going on since the membership reset to create Project Leads and get people involved in running things again. Hopefully we'll see an uptake in engagement from these soon, but there are still further projects that require attention.
• Archive: I still plan to have a discussion of the current state of the SSAGO archives with Charlotte, and how we can reinvigorate the Archive Project.
• Events: I will continue to support the Events Officer and our many national and regional events, to ensure they are all the best they can be!

November 2022 update

Leon Brindley, Publicity

Friday 11th of November 2022

Report

• Social media: I've continued to promote SSAGO online, posting about topics like Rali Cymru, World Mental Health Day, Diwali, Halloween and Remembrance Day.
• Administrative tasks: I've completed various administrative duties, such as helping onboard our new SSAGO Assistants, ensuring SSAGO's under-18s list is up-to-date for safeguarding reasons and configuring events on the SSAGO system.
• SSAGO News: I've published SSAGO News articles advertising the new Team Pink Assistants and the 2022 EGM results, and contacted local clubs about sharing news articles after their events.
• Instagram: I've created Instagram stories and highlights for Rally of Games, Rali Cymru and CentenaRally.

Aims

• Promotions: I will carry on promoting SSAGO frequently online to hopefully attract plenty of new members!
• Event pages: I will help develop the CentenaRally and MedieBall event pages on the SSAGO website.

October 2022 update

Ben Dickinson, Active Support

Thursday 13th of October 2022

Report

• Getting Started: I have just started the role, I had my introduction meeting and look forward to starting everything!

Aims

• Mascot: I need to find a mascot (suggestions welcome)
• Compass: I will probably spend a decent amount of time working out how compass actually works!

October 2022 update

Leon Brindley, Publicity

Thursday 13th of October 2022

Report

• Social media advertisements: I have frequently posted about SSAGO on social media (e.g. about The Queen, Amalgam, Discord Refresh, Black History Month and Freshers' Fayres).
• Gilwell Reunion 2022: I booked SSAGO's stand at Gilwell Reunion 2022 and advertised SSAGO throughout each exhibitor slot.
• Facebook: Updated descriptions and permission on SSAGO's Facebook Page and Group.

Aims

• Online promotion: I will regularly promote SSAGO (including Rali Cymru) across our social media platforms.
• SSAGO Support: I will promote SSAGO Support events like Camp Together 2023 from Northumberland Scouts.

October 2022 update

Nicholas Bond, Secretary

Wednesday 12th of October 2022

Report

• Life: Not *lots* has happened this past month or two, since I've been busy graduating, moving city, and starting a job. All is now settled again, and I've still managed to squeeze some things in recently...
• Emails: as usual, I've been keeping on top of my ever-growing inbox. Not to mention constantly approving everyone elses!
• Team Pink Meetings: Have been somewhat less frequent recently, so if you haven't seen any minutes, that's mostly why! I have been encouraging regular meetings and ensuring agendas, minutes etc exist for each, although not all have made it onto the website yet.
• Discord: It finally happened! Whilst some technical functionality is still to be implemented when our webmaster returns, the server is now slightly more streamlined and hopefully less intimidating for our incoming Freshers.

Aims

• Autumn Reps: As Rali Cymru looms (again), so does Autumn Reps - it's the next big thing I have to devote attention to.
• Project Revitalisation: much work has been going on since the membership reset to create Project Leads and get people involved in running things again. Hopefully we'll see an uptake in engagement from these soon, but there are still further projects that require attention.
• Archive: I still plan to have a discussion of the current state of the SSAGO archives with Charlotte, and how we can reinvigorate the Archive Project.
• Events: I will continue to support the Events Officer and our many national and regional events, to ensure we get the best possible rallies and ball!

August 2022 update

Leon Brindley, Publicity

Saturday 27th of August 2022

Report

• General SSAGO advertisements: I promoted SSAGO online during SQA and A-Level Results Days through SSAGO's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok accounts. I reached out to various Scouting and Guiding accounts on social media requesting that they share our post (or their own posts promoting SSAGO). For example, our main Facebook A-Level Results Day post received 73 shares.
• Amalgam 2022 promotion: I've promoted Amalgam 2022 on social media, with posts advertising booking stages, daily activities and snapshots from the SSAGO archives.
• Projects advertisements: I've shared 5 SSAGO Project spotlights across SSAGO's social media platforms, covering the Policy Fixers, SSAGO News, Pride, Web Team and NSGSO/NSGCB Projects.
• SSAGO Support: Wrote risk assessments for Wellies and Wristbands 2022 (covering marshmallow toasting and backwoods cooking at Foxlease and Waddow Hall, respectively) and our booth at Gilwell Reunion 2022.
• SSAGO News: Shared SSAGO News articles from members on social media for SSAGO Completes Metrolink, Rally of Games and 2022's Team Pink Weekend.

Aims

• Future event promotion: Advertise Amalgam 2022 and Rali Cymru across SSAGO's online accounts.
• Gilwell Reunion: Promote SSAGO (and Amalgam) through our booth at Gilwell Reunion 2022.

August 2022 update

Thomas Stevens, Chair

Tuesday 23rd of August 2022

Report

• Stronger Links: Myself, Rose and Nick met with the Scouts and Guides this summer and from this have helped them understand the *fun* position in which SSAGO sits, having to pacify the Students Unions and both of their criteria for who joins what and who insures who! Talks are going well.
• Promo time!: I'm sure you've seen it, but if you haven't take a gander at SSAGO's recent video promotion featuring myself. Autographs on request ;)
• Meetings meetings meetings: Dear God there's been a few. An average of two a week, about 4hrs each!
• Northern Irish friends?: Had a promising meeting with Scouts NI Network commissioner about incorporating clubs at unis there with SSAGO!
• Rally of Games Over: With RoG having been a fantastic celebration of SSAGO, with the novel idea of patrol competition at a rally, we've had the final debrief and closing of the rally. Things learned and feedback shared was appreciated by the upcoming events!
• General life: I have become a very very busy boi this summer, my continued apologies for delays on things as I attempt to sort my life out!

Aims

• Higher Powers: Build rapport with The Scout Association and Girlguiding as the new SSAGO chair. SAGGA deserve some of the love as well!
• Project Power!: Support Nick in his rejuvenation of the projects SSAGO has, and getting them ready and raring to go after COVID kicked 'em all in the butt!
• Shoulder to lean on: Be there for support, both formally and as a friend, for event committees and others with the stress of running big things like rallies, and little things too!
• Welcome noobs!: Let's make SSAGO the best it can for new freshers. Of course I can't do much on the local side of things, but I sure as hell can try make national SSAGO as inviting as possible for our newbies!
• Personal: I'm coming to the end of an MEng! Please bear with me as I focus on sorting my life out postgrad and making sure I don't starve for the next year; my mum says that's a little bit more important, especially as you guys don't pay me...

June 2022 update

Charlotte Simmons, Archivist

Wednesday 15th of June 2022

Report

• Sadly its been a quiet few months for me due to personal circumstances (the rest of Team Pink are aware of the reasons) however I have been involved in IOW Revolution and have been working recently with Team Pink and the Rally of Games committee to help get a SSAGO camp blanket to exist alongside the necker banner.
• I have also responded to some archive enquiries although if I have forgotten to reply to you please feel free to prod me!

Aims

• Continue to work on Amalgam ideas as well as the archives online project.
• Work to support the SSAGO camp blanket going forward

June 2022 update

Conni Schmitt, International

Tuesday 14th of June 2022

Report

• International attendance to Rally: I promoted Rally of Games to our known SSAGO connections, and established contact with a group in Finnland. In the end, myself and one other Dutch scout are attending
• International members: promoted SSAGO to student scouts and guides, getting international members involved on Discord
• African Rover Moot: working on SSAGO attendance, which will likely be possible (pending some buerocratic hurdles)
• Other International events: promoted international opportunities for SSAGO-aged scouts and guides, among them BuLa which will be attended by a SSAGOer
• Gave advice to SSAGOers considering Explorer Belts in countries I have lived in (Germany, Ireland)
• Other activities: involvement with RoG, particularly a fundraising badge and the Rally+ summercamp

Aims

• International attendence at SSAGO events: I'll be in touch with Irish, Dutch, German and other international student scout groups and invite them to both virtual and in-person SSAGO events
• SSAGO visiting international events: I will keep an eye and an ear out for events by international student scouting groups (like the Irish Rover Intervarsities) and hope to make it possible for SSAGO members to join. Currently, this is trying to get a SSAGO contingent to the African Rover Moot.
• Answering questions by internationals: I'm more than happy to be contacted by exchange students, both incoming and outgoing, and get them in contact with local clubs if there is one known to SSAGO!
• Promoting an international atmosphere within SSAGO: Discord has done an awesome job at getting SSAGOers and student scouts from different coutries talk to each other - my goal is that this international community is preserved even after lockdown is over!

June 2022 update

Nicholas Bond, Secretary

Sunday 5th of June 2022

Report

• Emails: lots of emails! 'tis the life of a secretary... I haven't always been the speediest at responding, but that's often to give Team Pink the best chance to review things - better a thorough response than a rushed one!
• TSA & GG: I've been arranging and attending meetings with TSA and GG, regarding our relationship.
• Team Pink Meetings: I've started Team Pink into a pattern of "fortnightly meetings", which hopefully we will maintain to keep on top of our ever-growing todo lists. I'm yet to fully settle into the rhythm of publishing agendas and minutes of these but that should get better very soon.
• Summer Reps: I've also been kept busy with setting up the next Reps meeting, scheduled for Rally Of Games.

Aims

• Summer Reps: As the nearest thing, it's certainly where most of my Pink time is going right now.
• Projects: I'm pleased to say we are currently in the process of setting up a new project! I have a number of other projects on my radar for reinvigoration; they'll each need a project leader with a small team behind them to look after them, so watch this space!
• Archive: I plan to have a detailed discussion of the current state of the SSAGO archives with Charlotte, and what we can do with them.
• Events: I will be working with Ant and Leon to set up some SSAGO Support events, predominantly Wellies & Wristbands and Gilwell Reunion - if there are others you think we should look into, get in touch!

June 2022 update

Leon Brindley, Publicity

Wednesday 1st of June 2022

Report

• Social media campaigns: I've consistently promoted National SSAGO on social media, including events like Once Upon A Ball and Rally of Games, special events like 2022's SSAGO Awards and NSGSO/NSGCB Summer Concerts and key dates like Mental Health Awareness Week and Eid.
• SSAGO News: I created SSAGO News articles for this year's Cutlery Cup, Committee Colander and SSAGO Commendations, and created new cover pages for each SSAGO Newsletter edition.
• Awards: I coordinated a new collection of SSAGO Commendations, and handed them out at Once Upon A Ball.
• Photos: I've updated SSAGO's Publicity Officer Photo Library with plenty of new photos from Isle of Wight Revolution and Once Upon A Ball.
• Discord: Updated lots of details on the SSAGO Discord, including launching a new Welcome Screen and creating events for Rally of Games, Amalgam and Rali Cymru.
• SSAGO Support: I've launched event pages on the SSAGO website and Facebook for Wellies and Wristbands 2022.
• Handover: I've continued to contribute to lots of general SSAGO tasks over our busy Handover period!

Aims

• SSAGO Support: Promote and coordinate exciting new SSAGO Support opportunities, including Wellies and Wristbands!
• SSAGO News: Share more stories from SSAGO events and socials through our SSAGO News platform!
• Online publicity: Continue to widely promote SSAGO online. I've already scheduled future posts for SSAGO's social media accounts, including for Pride Month and the upcoming Platinum Jubilee Weekend.

May 2022 update

Thomas Stevens, Chair

Tuesday 31st of May 2022

Report

• SAGGA: Met with the SAGGA Committee with some others on Team Pink to introduce ourselves, have a bit of a chat, and also start working together with the reinstatement of a SAGGA Liaison officer.
• Getting Started Meetings: Met with the newly-elected events for the coming year(s) and got them thinking of what to do next
• SASU: Met with Dave Thompson, manager on all national SASUs and went though the ins and outs of Compass for SASUs. Dave was lovely, Compass was not.
• Handover: If you haven't seen our handover agenda(s), you're in for a shock with the amount of stuff that was discussed. As a committee we've got the ball rolling on many things, and I reckon we're successfully avoiding feeling like Indiana Jones on keeping ahead of it all!

Aims

• Higher Powers: Build rapport with The Scout Association and Girlguiding as the new SSAGO chair.
• Pink & Efficient: Hone the efficiency of Team Pink by chairing the meetings with an iron mute button, keeping them as quick as possible so we don't have another 8-hour meeting and hate each other...
• Shoulder to lean on: Be there for support, both formally and as a friend, for event committees and others with the stress of running big things like rallies, and little things too!
• Personal: I'm coming to the end of an MEng! Please bear with me as I focus on exams, vivas and assignments; my mum says I should focus on this degree as I've gotten into so much debt with it...

Welcome Back & Charity Update

Nicholas Bond (National SSAGO)

Saturday 23rd of April 2022

Welcome back to the Team Pink blog! We're coming back in syle with new Assistant roles and an update on the Charity status.

Hello, and welcome back to the Team Pink Blog! Clearly things have been a little empty here over the past 3 years, but with the incoming Exec looking to improve communication we think it’s about time this page was revived.

Charity Update

The main reason for this post is that we need to share an update regarding SSAGO’s conversion to Charity status. The Charities Commission have contacted us to inform us they have rejected the initial proposal documents - but not denied SSAGO becoming a charity. They provided a number of points they would like to see addressed or clarified before a resubmission, covering things such as SSAGO’s involvement/independence from TSA, GG, SAGGA and SUs, the relationship between the SSAGO Representative Committee and the trustees, and the relationship between clubs and national SSAGO. They also would like us to make our objectives clearer.

As such, how to proceed with the charity conversion is a topic once again tabled for the in-person Team Pink Handover meeting which will occur the day of Ball (look out for an agenda soon!). 

Team Pink Assistant Roles

As mentioned in recent announcements, Team Pink is looking for more volunteers! New long-term Assistant Officer roles are being created to improve the workflow and responsibility within Team Pink. The two roles being opened for applications are: SAGGA Liaison and SASU Manager. Anyone can put themselves forward for either or both of these roles, so if you think you have the skills Team Pink is looking for then please see https://ssago.org/volunteer for full descriptions and the application form. You’ve only got until Midnight 29th April in order for these applications to be reviewed by Team Pink in person at Ball!

Further to these roles, in light of the Charities update above and the fact the Charity process looks set to take significant time, the decision was made to create a further, temporary role of "Charities Assistant". This role will undertake the legwork of the conversion process, enabling the core Exec to focus on the day-to-day running of SSAGO and their manifestos. The Charities Assistant role will be a temporary position, which will be removed as soon as all charity transition tasks are complete.

Applications for this role are to be made through the same form as the other roles describe above, so once again if you think you have the skills we’re looking for, head over to https://ssago.org/volunteer to see the full descriptions and submit your application!

Closing Thoughts

As ever, Team Pink is always looking for feedback. We’ll be reviewing our communication methods in depth at our handover meeting, so knowing what works for you is important! Would you like to see more on this blog, or is it a waste of our time? What would you like to see here, and how often? What smell has yellow got? And what about the recent Newsletter?

Whatever your thoughts - email us at [email protected], message us on Messenger or Discord, send us a carrier pigeon, we’d love to hear from you!

March 2022 update

Nicholas Bond, Secretary

Wednesday 9th of March 2022

Aims

• Exec Handover: I am working closely with all members of Team Pink to ensure the process runs as smooth as possible, given some less than ideal circumstances.
• Communication: I am already looking to improve internal Team Pink communication and organisation, the effects of which will hopefully be reflected through wider SSAGO. I am also planning to work with the Publicity and Webmaster roles to improve SSAGO's other online communication methods.
• Projects: Over the last few year of COVID lockdowns, many of SSAGO's projects have been languishing with members unaware of their existence. I would like to breathe some life back into them, introducing new members, new leadership and a sense of purpose to each one as necessary.
• Events: As part of an unexpectedly long-running event committee, I have gained some useful insights. Over the coming year I would like to help future national events to be the best they can be by further promoting knowledge sharing with and between them.

Introducing Thomas Stevens

Thomas Stevens, Chair

Tuesday 1st of March 2022

This was my biography for when I was chairman, 2022/23.

You might know me as “he just stole our mascot!”, or “who’s the twerp in the wolf hat?”, but the name I was born with is Thomas, and I’m your SSAGO Chairperson for the next year! I’ve been very active as SUGS president for a few years now, as well as on the Rali Cymru committee, and I’m ready to move all that enthusiasm full force to the national exec.
My main goal this year is to finish our transition back to in-person stuff that the last exec started, as well as finally getting us that charity status – we’re so close! I aim to be an approachable point of contact between the members and Team Pink, so come complain to me!
But also, compliments are accepted.
Just, you know, in case you wanted to.

February 2022 update

Rose Moran, Members

Monday 28th of February 2022

Report

• All events: I have had meetings with all events to get an update of where they are at and how team pink may be able to support them so far. This has included making arrangements of when to meet with them next.
• Event Welfare: Starting to work on methods in which events can honestly discuss how planning and group collaboration are going in the lead up to their events. I will introduce these to events very soon.
• Event Resources: maintaining and keeping event resources up to date.
• Team Pink: Discussing how we can work to improve the dynamic between events and Team Pink in order to reduce added pressures and workload.

Aims

• Event Questionnaire: to put together a questionnaire to find out how they have found support in the past and how team pink can help events going forward.
• Event Resources: to continue to maintain and keep up to date the event resources drive and add new documents as requested by events.

February 2022 update

Charlotte Simmons, Archivist

Sunday 27th of February 2022

Report

• Amalgam: Continued to develop plans to take the archives to Amalgam in September - I don't want to say too much at this point though as that would spoil it!
• Working with clubs: I've continued to answer questions from clubs regarding the archives searching through the collection to find several pieces of information....
• Archives online: I now have a plan for what will go where and how to structure the roll out of info onto the public archives site, so look out over the next few months to see this happen!

Aims

• Archives online: I have finished the planning for how this is going to look, over the next few months I aim to get significant amounts of info online onto the public site.

February 2022 update

Samir Soares, Chair

Sunday 27th of February 2022

Report

• I have been organising the SSAGO 2022 AGM.
• Meeting with Scouts and Guides to work out how SSAGO can become a charity and involve their organisations as well as developing a new triparte agreement between the three of us.
• Unfortunately I postponed Rali Cymru from Febuary to Autumn due to restrictions in January as event planning needs a lead time and there was much uncertainty then on legal restrictions in Wales.
• One silver lining is that Rali would have been during the weekend of storms over the UK so it probably would have been cancelled last minute as well

Aims

• Ensuring SSAGO operates safely
• Organising AGM 2022
• Organising SSAGO goes to Spoons
• Is everybody happy?

February 2022 update

Conni Schmitt, International

Sunday 27th of February 2022

Report

• International attendance to Rally: I investigated coming from which countries it was feasible Covid-wise to attend Viking Rally, and invited groups and individuals from these places. An Irish scout, myself as a German scout, and a SSAGOer studying abroad in Spain attended. A group of Dutch students was interested in attending but due to the ongoing Covid situation postponed this to a future event
• Maintaining relations to international equivalents of SSAGO: discussed possibilities of SSAGO collaborating with PfAU (Germany), by attending the German camp BuLa together and discussing interest in a jointly organized Witan. The BuLa did not get huge interest, the Witan talk resulted in a bid.
• Gave advice to SSAGOers considering Explorer Belts in countries I have lived in (Germany, Ireland)

Aims

• International attendence at SSAGO events: I'll be in touch with Irish, Dutch, German and other international student scout groups and invite them to both virtual and in-person SSAGO events
• SSAGO visiting international events: I will keep an eye and an ear out for events by international student scouting groups (like the Irish Rover Intervarsities) and hope to make it possible for SSAGO members to join
• Answering questions by internationals: I'm more than happy to be contacted by exchange students, both incoming and outgoing, and get them in contact with local clubs if there is one known to SSAGO!
• Promoting an international atmosphere within SSAGO: Discord has done an awesome job at getting SSAGOers and student scouts from different coutries talk to each other - my goal is that this international community is preserved even after lockdown is over!

February 2022 update

Joe Barnes, Quartermaster

Wednesday 23rd of February 2022

Report

• Neckers: We have neckers now!
• Popup Shop: A pop-up shop was opened to allow people to buy neckers and badges. This involved a full stock recount and updating the catalogue on the website. Some orders are still outstanding from this but will be dispatched shortly.
• Uniform Badges: We need to restock the uniform badges, the current design is decades old and is no longer in line with the updated Scout uniform badges - diamonds are for top awards, SASU badges should be rectangular like the network badges. I have suggested new designs and passed to Leon for finalisation.
• New Merch: I have contacted companies with regard to getting new merchandise; travel mugs, bobble hats and sunglasses are on my list at the moment, but as always you can suggest ideas via [email protected]
• Viking Rally: The shop was open in person at Viking Rally, when I wasn't cooking hundreds of sausage rolls!

Aims

• New Merch: Continue getting new merch options into the Shop.
• Re-open shop.ssago.org: I am in the process of contacting people with order issues and out of stock items so that the full SSAGO shop can re-open and be running properly in the next few months. New uniform badges will clear out about half of the remaining orders.
• POS Efficiency: I'm working with Oli to make the shiny new electronic Shop system work more efficiently for us, including being able to use it as a more integrated till at Rally, which will make stock control much easier and mean that hopefully none of these problems we’ve had will happen again...