BB New Zealand Communication
Kia ora
Welcome to the first term in 2023
There is a saying that no one is indispensable, however there are some who have boots that are hard to fill. None more so than Richard Harkness who retired from the National President's role after 7 faithful years serving the movement. It would be an understatement to say we are miss him and his wisdom, humor and grace.
We are still looking for someone to fill his shoes and in the meantime at our recent Executive Meeting Todd Harper was nominated to the position of Vice President and acting National President. We are grateful to Todd who has recently joined us as the Central Region representative for agreeing to take on the role. Todd is steering the current BB constitutional review so has a lot on his plate.
We have had a great start to year and celebration of 140 years, with a fantastic camp at Waipara earlier this month. It was an honor to attend and have a chance to speak to the boys and leaders, volunteers and parents in attendance. A report on the camp follows.
We are looking forward to other amazing events and adventures coming up, and one of the most significant is the Founder Camp in October at Finlay Park, Lake Karapiro in the Waikato. We are committed to fund raising an applications to help bring down the cost of this camp and travel to it, especially for those in the South Island. From a leader and parent's perspective, it may look like a massive undertaking, but we believe in the art of the possibility! Please contact your area representative or myself to find out and strategize how we can get you there and your unit/company. We have a vision to have the biggest assembly of BB young men to celebrate this milestone and show there is abundant life in our movement.
Please have read of all the exciting news that has been taking place and those events still to come in 2023. Please let us know and send in photos of what you are doing in your area so we can share in upcoming Bugles!
Thank you for your commitment to the boys and BB as we seek to support their Faith, Foundation and Future and remain "Sure & Stedfast"
And as always we are reinforce our reason for being... "The advancement of Christ's Kingdom among Boys' and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-Respect and all that tends towards a true, Christian manliness."
In His Service
Mike Brewer - National Director
0274 967 537
Stay Sure & Stedfast - Hebrews 6:19
BB & One New Zealand Team up in 2023
One Good Kiwi is a funding initiative from One New Zealand (formerly Vodafone NZ) where they give away $100,000 per month every month of the year.
In 2023 BB New Zealand have signed up to be a recipient organization and we need your help!! Individuals associated with the BB Movement can download the App in the Google Play Store or in the Apple Store and then donate 10 tokens to their favorite charity. Simple!
The more tokens donated the larger the share of the funds going to our BB movement. 50% of funds raised will be used to help subsidize the National Founders Camp to reduce the cost for all attendees.
We ask that you please circulate this option to your Unit, Friends, Family and even the neighbour's dog!!
Click on One Good Kiwi to find out more.
Please join now, and in April donate your tokens from your One Good Kiwi App!!
Click on the button below to check out the video promoting BB on the One Good Kiwi App in April.
Now is the time to register for the early bird discount and organize early travel to Nelson Lakes.
The early bird discount will save you over $150 and this is an already heavily subsidized course. Your early bird discount means the whole course is only $300, additionally if you are traveling from somewhere in the country that requires air tickets you may also qualify for $200 toward this cost.
Click the tab now to register!!
BB NATIONAL FOUNDERS CAMP 2023
1st - 7th October 2023
Registrations are now open for Founders Camp 2023 at Finlay Park on the shores of Lake Karapiro from the 1st-7th October the second week of the school holidays.
We are excited to celebrate 140 years as a movement and we have heaps of amazing activities planned.
Here are some of them
- Hydro Slide
- The Rocket
- Adventure Trail
- Animal Survival
- Cage Soccer
- Confidence Course
- Flying Fox
- Go Karts
- Indoor Climbing & High Ropes
- Mini Golf
- Sling Shot Paint Ball
- Airsoft competition (TBC)
- National ASSEMBLY (Photographed)
- Great speakers
- Heaps of fun and adventure
But wait! There’s more, A Waitomo Caves visit is included (travel and entry fees)!!!
Please register and encourage your unit to start planning, fund raising and booking travel to get to Finlay Park in October. We are expecting over 200 attendees, so we will need to do some planning too, so the earlier we know numbers, the better.
Please note, those travelling by air can book travel to Auckland and we will arrange transport to Finlay Park. There will be subsidy available for travel to Auckland once we have established expressions of interest from leaders across the BB movement.
PLEASE NOTE THERE WILL BE SUBSIDY FOR ATTENDEES AND WE HAVE AMENDED THE REGISTRATION TO EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST UNTIL WE CAN CONFIRM NUMBERS. PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK TO EXPRESS INTEREST.
Kings Badge Feedback
As part of our ongoing amalgamation process and with the change from Queens Badge Award to Kings, there is a need to look at new designs and ideas for the look and feel of the Presidents Badge and the Kings Badge. Please have a look at the various options below and give us some feedback via the link.
Kings Badge option 1
Kings Badge option 2
Presidents Badge Feedback
The follow are potential options for the Presidents Badge made using
Presidents Badge option 1
Presidents Badge option 2
Whanganui River Expedition
9th - 12th December 2023
This will be a unique expedition to discover one of New Zealand's historic and mysterious rivers, over a 4 day period, staying in huts and tents along the riverbank. We now have a firm itinerary and information from the canoe hire company contained below.
Register and pay on the link below which will help us determine the number of guides required. We need a minimum of 10 people to make it happen.
Trip Length, rough itinerary & Dates
4 Day Trip departing on Saturday 9th December. I can absolutely confirm that departure date with you and the 4 Day option is fantastic for a group of this dynamic as it offers flexibility with timings throughout the day and offers more time for off river exploration
in canyons & campsites.
Our 4 Day Trips start at Whakahoro and finish at Pipiriki
Our recommended campsites are -
-Night 1 - Ohauora
-Night 2 - Mangapurua
-Night 3 - Tieke, Ramanui or Ngaporo
Tieke & ramanui are both at the same point on the river, just directly opposite one another. Ngaporo is further downstream so if you chose this site you would have a slightly earlier finish on the final day which could work well for a large group if everybody is heading home after the trip.
Technically our trips do start and finish here in Ohakune at our base where you can leave your vehicles and we can shuttle you to and from the river. Ideally we meet everybody the day before departure to collect barrels & drybags for packing their gear so they can arrive bright and early the next morning, all packed and ready to go. We have an onsite motel however that may be too small for your numbers. There is a hostel a 10 second drive away which may suit your group more for pre trip accommodation. It is called LKNZ and has lovely clean facilities, and reasonable pricing. There is also a Top10 and DOC site in Ohakune.
Group size, ratios and Guide accompanying
With a group of the size and dynamic you are talking of which is 25-40 people, with 3 or 4 children per adult. That ratio of children to adults is similar to school camps and Duke of Edinburgh trips that we also do. Now these trips don't always want a fully guided trip with catering and gear provided which is understandable. However for safety, they do take guides with them.
Our guide to guest ratio is 1:10. So one guide for every ten customers.
Our guides are fully qualified & experienced. They will be there to help the group work on their canoeing skills, to navigate the rapids and the river and for swift rescues should there (probably) be capsized. They also know all of the hidden canyon & waterfalls spots you may otherwise paddle straight past.
Pricing
- The price per person includes 4 Day Canoe hire, includes hire of canoe, paddles, lifejackets & safety ropes, watertight barrels & drybags for gear, shuttle to and from the river with car and gear storage whilst you are on the river, a paddle & safety briefing at the rivers edge before you set off and a waterproof river map to take with you.
- The price also includes hiring a guide over the period we are on the river and will provide safety, local knowledge and enhance the trip for everyone. The following cost is based on 20 people with a minimum of multiples of 10 to spread the cost of the guide/s across the whole group. Total price per person is $350pp
- Please note the above price does not include food and transport to Ohakune or accommodation on the Friday night.
Foxton Beach Camp Renovation Project 2023
UPDATED
We have identified the approximate material cost for the project at $50,000 to replace the roof and creosote the outside of the building and perform other routine maintenance tasks.
We are looking for sponsors who would like to contribute to this cost which is basically to cover materials with labour from our movement and potentially Mobile Mission Maintenance.
If you know anyone who would like to contribute they can get in touch with me and the donation will be tax deductible.
We will also apply to local trusts and funders in the Manawatu and Wellington regions to help us supply funds.
Stay tuned for a date where we will have a working camp at Foxton Beach to get this project down!!
Cant140
Canterbury National Camp
It was an absolute pleasure to attend the BB CANT 140 camp at Waipara at the beginning of March and there was good attendance with 150 boys and 70 leaders, volunteers and parents.
Congratulations to the leaders who organised the event and especially Stephen Gregory and Paul Strange for the finer details and the schedule for the many and varied activities over the weekend.
A wonderful celebration!
Special thanks and acknowledgement to Marc Jensen
Marc Jensen Photography
NZOIA Bush Leadership Course
Update: We have a group penciled in and can waitlist more guys to get enough for a second instructor. Get in now as we will close this course off soon.
If you are 18 - 25 and want to extend your bush skills and gain an NZOIA qualification, then now is the time to join our Echo Bush Leadership Course 2023.
The following perquisites would help, but if you are interested get in touch regardless;
- Be 18 years old or over
- Hold a current First Aid Certificate
- Have the following experience as evidence in a logbook:
- Personal experience – at least 10 days experience (a bush walking day is considered to be at least 4 hours) bushwalking
- Instructional experience - at least 5 days additional experience as a co-leader or assistant leader in a bush environment
The course will be held in the Arthurs Pass area 24th - 28th June.
Early registration is encouraged. There is a generous subsidy for the course, thanks to Maerewhenua Trust. What would normally cost well over $1,000 will cost around $300.
Camp Relf Flooded out!
Yep, there has been a great deal of water in the North! Unfortunately this has cancelled a couple of events for our units in the Bay of Plenty. Here's hoping we can have a huge camp for Founders week in October to make up for it.
Memorial to Blair Stewart
Holona Lui, Peter Hodge, Cptn. Blair Stewart, Tony Anandale, Fred van Iddekinge, Henry Field also of the colour party parading the new colours at the Basin Reserve Dec. 1971.
Blair Stewart worked for BB New Zealand in Wellington for most of his working life as Equipment Department Manager and a range of other duties, during Alford Dornan’s time and before. Current BBNRT Chairman Ian Bogue recalled "I had a lot to do with him as he serviced the Publications Committee which Jack Wright and then I chaired, and which produced all handbooks from the 1960s to the 1990s." For many years he was Captain of 33rd Wellington Company at Brooklyn, which it is thought he also attended as a Boy. Like Alford, Blair never married. Blair retired to Hawkes Bay.
Farewell El Presidente!
Thank you Richard for your service over the last 7 years!! Your grace, wisdom and unrelenting enthusiasm for BB has been truly inspiring.
Your commitment, and that of your wife Heather, who has supported your many trips, meetings and correspondence among other things over the years has been tremendous.
You have truly set the standard high and on a personal level I already miss our many conversations and the enthusiastic banter about all things BB.
Mike Brewer - National Director
Welcome and Thank You Todd
We welcomed Todd to the Executive in 2022 as the Central Region Area Representative and thank him to stepping up and accepting the nomination for Vice President and acting as President in the interim.
Here is a little about Todd;
Todd Harper, BCS.
My BB journey has spanned nearly 20 years, starting in the Anchor Boys with the 7th Hamilton Company. Here I gained my queens badge and attended our world-class NLDC.
In addition to my role as a BB New Zealand Executive Board Member, I am a current trustee of ‘The Boys' Brigade in New Zealand, Northern Regional Trust’.
Outside of BB, I am passionate about community-based, not-for-profit organisations and serve in various governance roles through them all.
I am passionate about our ministry and know first-hand the impact it can have on the lives of young people. As a communicator by trade and training, I hope I can be a strong voice for the most important stakeholder in our organisation, our boys’.
Funny to finish!
