Suffolk Scouts has a vacancy for the District Lead Volunteer in the Sudbury District. You do not need to live in the District nor do you need to be an existing member of Scouts to apply.

About the Sudbury District:

Sudbury District adjoins Bury St Edmunds and Wolsey Districts.  At the 2025 Census, Sudbury returned a total uniformed membership of 1,126 members made up of:

• 18 Squirrel Scouts (4 – 6 year-olds)
• 215 Beaver Scouts (6 - 8-year-olds)
• 255 Cub Scouts (8 - 10 ½ year olds)
• 235 Scouts (10 ½ - 14-year-olds)
• 96 Explorer Scouts (14 – 18-year-olds) – including Young Leaders
• 2 Network members (18 – 25-year-olds)
• 305 Adult leaders (18+ year olds)

There is now an opportunity for you to apply, or to put forward the name/s of someone you know for consideration as the next District Lead Volunteer. We encourage you to nominate those whom you believe are suitable for the role.

All nominations are received in confidence. If you want to find out more about what is involved, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Search Team Chair. Don’t hold back; ask for more information. You may find yourself placed to take on the challenge!

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I’m delighted to announce that Leigh Foster-Green and Steve Williams have been appointed to the role of District Lead Volunteer and will be effective from 23 January 2025.

Leigh has held a variety of adult roles at Group, District and County levels for 25 years, such as Assistant Scout Leader at Mildenhall, Assistant District Commissioner (Scouts) in Bury St Edmunds, and Deputy County Commissioner in Suffolk. Leigh continues to be involved in leader and manager training delivery in the county and region. He has most recently been a Deputy District commissioner for Bury St Edmunds and the Group Lead Volunteer at Mildenhall, a role that he will retain.

Steve has held roles at Group and District levels for 26 years, including Scout Leader at 1^st Horringer and Assistant District Commissioner (Scouts) in Bury St Edmunds. Steve continues to be an active Nights Away Adviser. Steve has most recently been a Deputy District Commissioner for Bury St Edmunds.

I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to Tony Millburn, who stepped in to perform the duties of the DC / DLV last February when nobody else did. His service to Scouting and our wider community is truly appreciated. I’m very pleased to confirm that Tony will remain a member of Scouts, taking on new challenges at county and will continue to support this district in the future.

I ask all volunteers and young people to welcome and support Leigh and Steve as they settle into their new roles and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact them or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Gary Burden

County Lead Volunteer 
Suffolk Scouts 

The Suffolk County Trustee Board are pleased to announce that Howard Blackett, who recently served as the County Commissioner, has been appointed as the new Chair after Rodney Turner resigned from the post in December.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank Rodney for his dedication and over 20 years of Scouting service in many guises which has been greatly appreciated. We wish him all the best for his future outside of Scouting.

After stepping down from his role as County Commissioner last year, Howard expressed an interest in contributing further to Suffolk Scouts.  Having had an exploratory conversation with Howard about possible roles, the Trustee Board voted to co-opt Howard onto the Board earlier this month.   Howard has since volunteered to take on the role of Chair and his offer was unanimously approved by the Board. He brings with him a wealth of experience of working with Trustee Boards, a clear understanding of how Scouting works at County and District level, developed whilst he was County Commissioner and a strong commitment to our values and mission. We are confident that he will be able to give the Board of Trustees the leadership and sense of direction required in the role.

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The CMAT team have organised a Walking and Training event based at the Plas Dolygaer Mountain Centre, Plas Dolygaer, Pontsticill, Merthyr Tydfil Wales CF48 2UR

Note: This event is for Leaders Only and is aimed at preparing adult leaders for undertaking a Hill walking Permit assessment. For Scouts, Explorers. CMAT are having an assessment weekend in March 2025.

The event will cost £40.00 and is taking place from 07/02/2025 at 18:00 until 09/02/2025 at 18:00

You may have had an invitation via OSM already or if interested, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more details.

Dear All,

Please see below the messages from Howard Blackett (CC Suffolk Scouts) and Ian Newbery (Acting East of England Regional Commissioner)

From: Howard Blackett

I am delighted to let you know that Gary Burden has been appointed as the new County Lead Volunteer (CLV) for Suffolk Scouts. Gary and I will meet on Friday 6 December for a formal handover, and he will assume responsibility for the role with effect from Saturday 7 December.

Gary is a highly experienced scouter; he has volunteered in Suffolk Scouts for over 15 years, most recently as a Deputy District Commissioner and the County Safety Advisor. His previous roles include District Commissioner (Deben) and section assistant/leader at Scout and Explorer Scouts. These experiences give Gary a firm appreciation of the hard work and commitment our volunteers have, and the challenges they face.

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