QBRE Chairman Ben Jones reports that the past year has sparked changes for Queensland Rovers. The major change has been the implementation of the new Rover Structure.
Building the State’s Rovering system from scratch has been a difficult and frustrating process. Ben reflects that it is the unfortunate nature of the human to resist change and this has been one of the biggest hurdles in the implementation of the new structure.
Two successful conferences were held in the last year with Rovers from most Regions represented. These conferences brought Rovers together to solve issues and better meet the needs of Rovering across Queensland. Rovers are continually trialling different methods to achieve their goals and learning every step of the way.
Queensland have been giving service to the community in many ways. There has been numerous service activities at Crew level, however some major service activities from a Branch level include; Agoonoree – which recorded the highest number of Rovers in attendance. Police Remembrance Day - Queensland Rovers assembled and prepared donation boxes at short notice for the second year running. Smith Family Packing Co-ordination - 35 dedicated Rovers joined together to help the Smith Family co-ordinate over a thousand parcels to be delivered just before Christmas 2004. Without Rover involvement, these events would not have been possible.
A number of events were held throughout the year including the yearly motor sport event Banana Bash, St George’s Ball, Urban Challenge (an event held for the Venturer Scout Section who use public transport to travel to bases across Brisbane) and Rancrilgen (camp for disabled youth). This camp appeals to a different age group to Agoonoree.
Approximately 100 Rovers attended Tassie Moot in December 2004. The Moot gave participants the ability to meet new and old friends from across Australia and overseas. It also gave Queenslanders a taste of Tasmania, from extreme adventure to gourmet tours.