“Tenacity is the ability to hang on when letting go appears most attractive.” – Anonymous

St Croix is privileged to honour the tenacity and strength of Ann Elizabeth Booth – their Pack Scouter until the end of last year.

On 1 March 2024, at a special ceremony attended by both the St Croix Cub Pack and Scout Troop, Ann Booth received an award for Meritorious Conduct for selfless conduct for the benefit of Scouting under difficult circumstances.

Ann has been a dedicated member of the Movement in a number of different capacities, as detailed below. She has also previously been awarded the Long Service Medal and the Medal of Merit for her Scouting contributions.

However, since 2011 she has been caring for her aging and increasingly frail mother, now 94. Despite this, she has functioned as a Pack Scouter, and contributed in numerous ways to the Movement. Despite the challenges faced, she had managed to organise her time to attend to these as well as her various duties. She is widely known to be a real life example of the 8th Scout Law, by being able to take things in her stride. Ann is acknowledged as having an amazing ability to remain cheerful under the most trying of circumstances. She is truly an inspiration to all who know her, and especially to those privileged to have worked closely with her in the Movement.

Ann was not a Scout or Guide in her youth, but joined as an adult in 1981, when she moved from Cape Town to Mthatha with her husband, Geoff Booth. She became the Training Team Secretary and subsequently Area Secretary for the then Transkei Area. She held this position until June 1984, when Geoff and her left Transkei for what is today Kwa-Zulu Natal. During her stay in the Transkei, Ann completed a wide variety of training courses. She also assisted with the Pack at Ikhwezi Lokusa School for the Disabled.

While in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Ann joined the District team as Assistant District Commissioner (Administration) for Queensburgh. She remained in this position until Geoff and her departed for Empangeni in January 1988. Ann soon became a Pack Scouter at 1st Empangeni, a large Group, and remained there until Geoff and her departed back to the Transkei in January 1990.

Ann did not take part in Cubs between 1990 to the first half of 2005. Living in Port Elizabeth (now Gqberha) since 1999, she re-started the St Croix Cub Pack in 2005, which had closed for a couple of years. She has worked with various assistants since that time, giving them valuable in-service training. In addition to her duties with the Pack, she attended an Assistant Leader Trainers course early in 2006, which was held in Graaff-Reinet. She was subsequently awarded an Honourable Charge as an Assistant Leader Trainer, and served on the Regional Training Team for a number of years. She was staff on IAL, Warrant and Wood Badge courses during this time. She ran the Pack continuously since restarting it in 2005 to the end of 2023, except for the time that it was shut due to the Covid lockdown.

While she has stepped down as Pack Scouter at St Croix, she remains available to the Movement to provide training and guidance to all Pack Scouters.

Ann, thank you so much for all your contributions in the face of adversity, and being a pillar at St Croix!