Scout of the Year Award

About Scout of the Year

The Scout of the Year Award celebrates youth members in Scouting who have contributed exceptionally to Scouting and made a difference in their wider community.

Initiated by the NSW State Youth Council and developed by young people for young people, the award recognises the work youth members are doing to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and encourages youth empowerment and advocacy at all levels.

The award:

  • Congratulates and recognises youth members who make a difference in their community and in Scouting
  • Empowers youth members to further develop themselves and their community
  • Raises the profile of Scouts NSW as a Youth Leading, Adult Supporting Organisation
  • Inspires youth members to fulfil the purpose of Scouting: ‘as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities’
  • Energises youth members to become active citizens creating positive change in their communities and in the World
  • Raises awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Scouts for SDGs)
  • Builds awareness of the Messengers of Peace program.

The award is presented at a Twilight Spring Celebration each year - an inspiring and exciting event that brings the community together to celebrate the incredible impact of young people in Scouting.

Joey Scout of The Year Finalists

Oliver Wicks

Ollie has participated in the MS Readathon since he started school. The readathon raises much-needed funds for research into Multiple Sclerosis and provides support for people and their families. Ollie has read over 500 books and raised $1000.

 

Jack Elvy

Jack has achieved his Joey Scout Peak Award and is the first Joey Scout in the 1st St Andrew’s Scout Group history to ever achieve this. He has spent the last 2 years working hard with his leader Djubi to achieve this award and is a huge milestone for him and the Scout Group as a whole.

Cub Scout of The Year Finalists

Jayden King-Li

Jayden has fundraised for Kids with Cancer, and NSW Food Bank, he set up a cake stall in Sydney Park and raised $277 on his own, he also organised the Cub Scout section to run a plant and cake stall to raise funds for Food Bank. In addition, Jayden became a unit leader at the age of 9 and has been an excellent support and role model for 1st Alexandria Scout Group.

Lara Kaluarachchi

Lara is a very keen student of Auslan (Australian Sign Language) and assists new Joey Scouts and Cub Scouts in learning how to sign/fingerspell their names. In addition, Lara assists Joey Scouts with activities each week by teaching them how to tie knots, how to lay and light a fire, and helping make cat toys for their local pet rescue and craft activities.

Sophia Elvy

Sophia has been a wonderful support to her mother and brother as her family has been through some very troublesome health challenges. Sophia has developed into an amazing young lady who now can cook, clean and care for her family to support her mother when she is unwell. Sophia is a credit to her family, and her Scout Unit.

Scout of The Year Finalists

Robert Stubbs

Robert volunteers his time and effort to assist with the younger sections. His leadership with the younger Scouts is inspiring and he has been instrumental in the growth of the group. In addition, he gives up his spare time to organise and keep the Scout Hall clean to ensure activities run smoothly.  Robert has also assisted in the planning and running of Joey Scout region and group events.

Glyn Savage

Glyn led a small group to raise $200 and two full carloads of donations to assist with the Wollongong Homeless Hub. Glyn also coordinated a soup kitchen and donations collection box at the Wollongong High School and instigated and provided all materials for a mufti day collection donations at the Keiraville Primary School.

Oliver Pritchard

Oliver has developed a scouting-themed series of geocaches around his local area. These geocaches pay tribute to the legacy the Scouts have left in the community whilst also providing people with the opportunity to get out and about, exploring areas and places they may have never been before. Oliver has created an accessible activity for all ages that promotes exercise and orienteering to his local community.

Venturer Scout of The Year Finalists

Samuel Hubbard

Samuel Hubbard has taken it upon himself to become a Cub Scout leader and run the Cub Scout section in his Group. Samuel runs a fantastic program and the Cub Scouts love having him as their Leader. In addition, Samuel is also guiding another Venturer Scout and Scout on their journeys to becoming Cub Scout Leaders.

Zoe Suthers

Zoe raised money for The Kids Cancer Project after losing her grandfather in 2020 to cancer. Zoe researched the best place to donate her hair to ensure it stayed in Australia and went to kids with hair loss at no cost. Zoe raised above her target amount and even got her mother to donate her hair as well.

Nathaniel Officer

Nate has been an active volunteer with the South Coast & Tablelands environment team over the last 2 years. He has helped young people gain a love and respect for the natural world and has taught younger sections about what they can do to help their local environment. In addition, Nate has dedicated long days and nights to help run SC&T Environment camps.

Rover Scout of The Year Finalists

Alexander Morson

Alex dedicates his time to retention and recruitment and providing groups with the knowledge and skills to deliver better quality programs. Alex has also been heavily involved with the planning and delivery of School for Adventure and is a sectional leader at multiple scout groups. Alex has also stepped up as the Deputy NSW contingent leader for AJ2025 and has worked tirelessly to ensure that the contingent is well-prepared for the event.

William Genge

William has been the leading force for a youth-led council in the North Coast Region, providing strong leadership and a voice to all youth members. As a Rover Scout and a Cub Scout Leader, he has completed his Woodbadge and is passionate about all Scouting Youth having a voice and being a driving force in their Scouting journey.

Tim Ryan

Tim developed an environment activity for younger sections at the South Metropolitan Region camp. Scouts were asked to collect insects from the creek and then discuss their findings using an info sheet that helped them determine how healthy the water was. Tim was able to challenge the Scouts by asking what various things might impact the health of the water as well as testing the pH of the water.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scout of the Year Award

If you still have questions, please email [email protected].

The decision of those to present the Scout of the Year Award will be made by a Project Patrol of the following members:

  1. A 5-person assessment team (youth members) with varying degrees of knowledge about the age sections, the Fundamentals of Scouting and the Achievement Pathways; and
  2. 2 Executive members of the State Youth Council.

This Project Patrol will be advised by the State Commissioner (Youth Empowerment) and the Assistant Chief Commissioner Youth Engagement.

The award process will remain, at all times, strictly confidential. No communication will be made to nominees until a final decision on the outcome of their nomination has been made.

If the award is not to be granted, the person who proposed the nomination will be notified in writing or another suitable medium directly by Chair of the State Youth Council. If deemed appropriate by the Selection Project Patrol, this letter may include reasons why the award was not granted and any aspects that may lead to a changed decision in the future.

For successful nominees, finalists will receive an invitation to the ceremony following the assessment of applications at the beginning of September.  The scout titled “Scout of the Year” will be kept confidential until the award ceremony.

 

The Award will be presented by a young person, i.e. State Commissioner (Youth Empowerment), Assistant Chief Commissioner Youth Engagement and/or State Youth Council Chair.

Awardees will receive a formal invitation outlining the details of the Awards Night and a note of congratulations from the NSW Chief Commissioner.

A Scout of The Year Certificate and a Glass Trophy will be presented alongside a camp blanket badge, and a Scouts NSW name badge to indicate they were the Scout of the Year for their respective section.

 

  • The applicant must be a current youth member of Scouts NSW; 
  • The applicant must have shown great initiative in their achievement, to a point over and above the developmental level that would be expected in their age section; 
  • The applicant’s achievement must have had a significant positive impact on Scouting and/or the wider community; 
  • Projects should have correlation the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. If you are unsure which Goal your project relates to, visit https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs for more information. 
  • The applicant must have upheld elements of the Scout Promise and Law during their achievement; 
  • The project must reflect skills developed in the Scouting Movement 
  • The applicant must have gone above and beyond their own personal abilities and have shown great personal growth and development throughout the achievement; and 
  • The applicant can only receive the Award once per Section (a maximum of 5 total). 

2022 Scout Of The Year Ceremony Highlight Reel

Inspired and want to start your own project?

All of the projects that our Scout of the Year Finalists complete are eligible to be Messengers of Peace projects and Scouts for SDGs projects! This is a way for Scouts internationally to keep track of the impact that our 54 million Scouts across the world make on their communities. If you want to make your own difference on your community and are inspired by our Scout of the Year Finalists, hop onto the Messengers of Peace and Scout for SDGs webpages and find out just how easy it is to run or participate in a project of your own! Don’t forget to log your project to show the world just how awesome our Scouts across NSW are!

If you want to get your home unit involved in the SDGs, check out our resource for running youth forums, this will help you engage with fellow youth members and inspire your group to make a difference!

Messengers of Peace

Scouts do some amazing things, from simple community actions to large-scale projects such as preventing bullying in schools in the UK, helping street gangs in El Salvador to reduce violence, cleaning up a playground in Texas, and planting millions of trees all over Africa.

Throughout its history, Scouting has inspired its millions of members to make a difference – applying their leadership to creating a better world. Messengers of Peace is a World Scouting Initiative, which encourages Scouts to do community service and tell the story of their experience in order to inspire others to action.

Australian Scouts just like you have already spent over 2.4 million hours on 482 projects across the country! Now is your chance to run your own project! Next time you work towards a special interest badge like Creating a Better World or the Environment, make sure you log the difference you are making in your community as a Messengers of Peace Project!

For more info and to log your own project, check out this website!

Scouts for SDGs

Did you know that Scouts is making the world’s largest coordinated youth contribution to the SDGs? Young people around the world are transforming their communities by taking action for peace and sustainability.

If you are starting a special interest badge, why not work towards the Creating a Better World or Environment badge? Start by looking at the Sustainable Development Goals and doing some research into an issue that you are passionate about!

We know that there is so much information available on the SDGs which makes it hard to work out where to start looking! Don’t worry, the SYC has you covered! We have developed a library of resources that will send you in the right direction, all you need to do is click here!

Once you have run a project that works towards the SDGs, make sure you log it here! You will join over 54 million young people around the world who have run over 16 million projects that help change the world!

2023 Timeline

6th June 2023: Applications Open 

2nd August 2023: Applications Close and Selection Project Patrol commences deliberations 

22nd August 2023: Finalists notified 

29th August 2023: People’s choice opens 

12th September 2023: People’s choice closes 

16th September 2023: Awards Celebration – Sydney 

Sustainable Development Goals

In the application process, applicants will be asked to allocate a UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to their project/achievement. The 17 SDGs are a world-wide goal framework to reach by 2030. The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) has made a commitment to assist UN in achieving these goals. Scouts NSW believes that engaging society’s youth in the goals is the best way to create positive change.

The Scout of the Year Award will be presented to those applicants that have made a considerable impact on one or more of the SDGs. However, the applicant did not need to recognise this link with the SDG when the project/achievement was being completed. Successful applicants will become SDG Advocates for Scouts NSW and assist in spreading the message.

Scout of the Year in the Media

News of our Scout of the Year winners and finalists sure travels around fast! Below are links to media articles about our amazing youth members.

Past Winners

2019:

Cub Scout of the Year: Megan Visser
Scout of the Year: Jacinta Gomez
Venturer Scout of the Year: Aimee Savva
Rover Scout of the Year: Jack Millett

 

2020:

Cub Scout of the Year - Emma Ouyang
Scout of the Year - Katelyn Cleary
Venturer Scout of the Year - Luke Meyers
Rover Scout of the Year - Lachlan Page

 

2021:

People's Choice: Benjamin Caughey
Joey Scout of the Year: Kaysanne Lockman
Cub Scout of the Year: Jayden Savage
Scout of the Year: Tynielle Gomez
Venturer Scout of the Year: Thomas Furness
Rover Scout of the Year: Taya Bates
 

2022:

People's Choice: Pepper Thompson
Joey Scout of the Year: Chloe McLennan
Cub Scout of the Year: Daniel Green
Scout of the Year: Lauren Channon
Venturer Scout of the Year: Emma Johnston
Rover Scout of the Year: Eleanor Critchley

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