Supporting Scouting in York & North Yorkshire
With the support of over 2200 adult volunteers, North Yorkshire Scouts provides skills for life to over 6500 young people in England’s largest county. Our County spans major towns and cities such as York, Harrogate, and Scarborough, as well as rural communities in the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Parks.
There are 12 Districts within North Yorkshire – these are the areas which comprise several Scout Groups within the county. This results in a further subdivide of more than 100 groups offering everyday adventure to young people, both male and female, in almost 400 sections. The sections consist of Squirrel Scouts, Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts, Explorer Scouts and Scout Network.
Our County Team is in place to provide support to the districts and groups across our patch, to ensure they have the resources and expertise to deliver Scouting activities and programmes locally. We are entirely volunteer led, but assisted by a small group of staff team members, who make up our County Support Team with a group of volunteers working side-by-side.
Our County Team is led by our volunteer leadership team, who are the team leaders from each of the core County’s Teams: Programme, Volunteer Development, Support Team, and Trustee Board.
Contact our Leadership Team
Max Butler
County Lead VolunteerMax has been a Scout since 10 years old, first joining Dringhouses Scout Group in York where he soon realised Scouting was going to be a big part of his life. Max became an adult volunteer at the same group when he turned 18 where he led their Scout Troop before taking on the leadership of an Explorer Unit.
International Scouting has been a big part of Max’s time in The Scouts, attending and supporting World Jamborees in Sweden, Japan, North America and the World Scout Moot in Iceland.
Max took on the leadership of North Yorkshire Scouts Events portfolio in 2019, building up a suite of events for every section – something Max remains passionate about in his role as County Lead Volunteer.
Stepping up to lead the County in 2022, Max is focused on supporting and growing Scouting across York and North Yorkshire.
Professionally, Max held various roles at Network Rail in corporate communications and public relations before moving on to manage a nationwide logistics business.
Phil Bennett
Transformation LeadAlongside fellow key volunteers Phil’s role as a Transformation Lead will help North Yorkshire Scouts to understand, plan, and deliver plan the changes to come to our movement. A big part of your role is to champion and promote change, supporting members in the County to connect the dots about what the changes mean to them.
Phil started Scouting as a Beaver at the age of 6 years and has been involved ever since. Phil has over 20 years experience as an adult volunteer in the movement, having held a wide variety of roles including, Section Leader, Trustee, Group Scout Leader and Assistant County Commissioner. Most recently, Phil was part of the leadership team that took North Yorkshire’s Jamboree Unit to the 25 World Scout Jamboree in Korea.
Simon Hickling
Volunteering Development Team LeaderAs Volunteer Development Team Leader, Simon heads up a group of volunteers who make sure all volunteers in County teams have a fantastic volunteering experience. This includes the following key tasks:
Attract and welcome new volunteers to County teams
Make sure volunteers are well-supported
Help volunteers in County teams with learning
Recognise volunteers
Simon has volunteered with Scouts for over 30 years and has held a variety of roles including, Beaver Scout Leader, Group Scout Leader, Assistant District Commissioner -Beaver Scouts, Assistant District Commissioner -Adult Training, District Commissioner and County Training Manager.
Simon started out his Scouting career in British Scouts Western Europe (BSWE) in the Heinsberg District which which covered Germany, Holland, Belgium and Italy.
Neil Underwood
Programme Team LeaderAs the County Programme Team Lead, Neil oversees and supports the delivery of high-quality programmes for young people. This includes promoting and supporting Top Awards, and supporting Section programmes when activities or events are best done at County scale. Neil and his team cover the following key tasks:
Help Sections within the County to improve their programmes
Make sure Sections are set up to deliver high-quality programmes
Approve County activities and permits (when delegated by the Lead Volunteer)
Set up activities and events in the County
James Porter
County Youth LeadHannah Eustace
Trustee Board Chair[departments]
