{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Written by Nicola Hilliard","standfirst":"Finding a balance between volunteering, parenting and work is a familiar scenario for many of our brilliant volunteers in Scouts. But what makes the Ralph family stand out is they\u2019ve all achieved amazing awards and accolades.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"fullWidth","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s not often that a parent receives a Silver Wolf as their child receives their Duke of Edinburgh Gold and Queen\u2019s Scouts Award, which they finally got to celebrate at Windsor this year.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen Steve Ralph first started volunteering at Scouts in 1982, he ran Cubs and Ventures with very little help.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince then, his wife Sue and their youngest daughter, Hannah, have joined Scouts, both becoming volunteers, achieving various awards and local area roles.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince their early days as volunteers, Steve and Sue have gone on to lead incredible international experiences and taken on multiple roles to inspire young people in their local community, with Hannah now leading an Explorer group too.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/17645/img-8413min.jpg","width":1170,"height":1578,"altText":"Hannah, Steve and Sue Ralph stood by one of the walls of Windsor castle. Hannah is in the middle with her arms round Steve and Sue, with one hand holding her award. They\u0027re all dressed in formal Scout uniform, with neckers, lots of badges and medals.","caption":"Steve, Sue and Hannah collecting their awards at Windsor this year","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EThe start of their Scouts Journey\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen he was younger, Steve had a fantastic time as a Scout, and one of his greatest memories is Scouts giving him his first experiences of flying in a plane in 1979.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHis group planned to go to the 15th World Scout Jamboree in Iran,\u00A0but it was cancelled due to the Iranian Revolution. The \u2018World Jamboree Year\u2019 was then announced, and several international World Jamboree Year camps took place across the world in multiple countries, including Australia, Canada, Sweden and the United States.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESteve\u2019s group were chosen to travel to Texas, and they stayed at the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. This trip ignited in Steve a passion for Scouts that lasted a lifetime.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/17338/img-7978min.jpg","width":1008,"height":718,"altText":"","caption":"Steve at the Assistant Unit Leader World Scout Jamboree in Sweden","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EBecoming leaders\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter his brilliant experience of being in Scouts, Steve couldn\u2019t hang up his necker just yet. He decided to stay on to become a Cubs leader.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe took on the role of becoming a Group Scout Leader on a local housing estate. The building needed repair, so Steve worked tirelessly, securing a grant to make improvements, and the group was built up from there.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEvery year the group attended summer camps, and they alternated between UK camps and international ones, visiting many countries, including Belgium, Finland and Iceland\u003Cspan style=\u0022text-decoration: line-through;\u0022\u003E.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen he married Sue, she got involved too and helped to run his Beaver group, and the group is still going strong today. In between running Scouts, they were both managing full-time jobs and parenting two young girls.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"Up to now I\u2019ve had some of the best times of my life in Scouts. I spent my younger years travelling the world with Scouts, which has led me into my current career as a travel editor. I\u2019ve had fantastic experiences and made brilliant lifelong friends along the way. Like my Dad, I want to give something back and help others have what I\u0027ve had and experienced.","attribution":"Hannah Ralph","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EAchieving Youth Awards\u00A0\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter becoming a leader, Steve realised that when he was younger his Scout group were all only pushed to go for the Queen\u2019s Scout Award. Steve became a Queen\u2019s Scout, but he hadn\u2019t known about the Duke of Edinburgh\u2019s Award (DofE) or the Explorer Belt, which he\u2019d have loved to have completed.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, Steve\u2019s a big believer in broadening everybody\u2019s horizons, both in his group, district and county level. He\u2019s keen to mentor young people and help them become the best they can be.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHaving taken on the roles of Queen\u2019s Scout Award assessor, Duke of Edinburgh\u2019s Award assessor and District Commissioner, Steve makes sure everyone has the opportunity and support to do the awards he missed.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe understands the awards are #GoodForYou, as they don\u2019t just offer practical skills, but help to prepare young people for life and teaches them how to communicate with others, too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EAwards to make you stand out\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESteve believes the biggest benefit of the awards is having an extra card to play in education-based and workplace interviews to make you stand out.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn his first job interview, which was for a police officer role, his Queen\u2019s Scout Award became a key talking point and helped Steve stand out to the interviewer.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHis own experiences inspire Steve to push young people in his local area, including his daughters, to get their awards, and he encourages them all to talk about their accomplishments in interviews. He truly knows the benefit of having these additional achievements on a CV and how they can help young people and adults to progress.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/17337/img-8235min.jpg","width":1170,"height":871,"altText":"Steve and his daughter are sat on a green bench together. They are both wearing Scout hoodies and Steve is wearing a blue, red and white necker. They are both smiling at the camera and are outside in front of a tall bush.","caption":"Steve and Hannah Ralph in Copenhagen.","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EMaking an impact\u00A0\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELike many volunteers, Steve and Sue hadn\u2019t always realised the impact they\u2019d been making. They recently went to the wedding of one of his first very Scouts, along with many of his original group members. They told Steve that, without him, they wouldn\u2019t be where they are now. They\u2019re now achieving great things as headteachers, police officers and army officers.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis validated what Steve and Sue realised long ago that Scouts is more than an hour on a Friday night. It\u2019s sitting down and talking to young people, getting them to focus and work hard, and helping them achieve the extra things they need to succeed.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"Being part of a young person\u2019s journey in Scouts is one of the most rewarding things. From investing them as a Beaver, to then being invited to their wedding, and then investing their children into the same Beaver colony years later is just one example of how remarkable scouting can be.","attribution":"Sue Ralph","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003ELearning new skills as a team\u00A0\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom his own and his family\u2019s experiences, Steve strongly believes that completing awards and being in Scouts can help you develop communication, teamwork and networking skills, both locally and internationally.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen his group went to a camp in Finland, Steve started having brief chats with a Finnish leader. Over several years these small interactions led them to staying in touch and becoming close friends, which then led to them building links between the two Scout groups. This helped the groups to learn more about the world around them, as well as each other\u2019s cultures.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese connections around the world have also proven to be useful to Steve in the planning of international adventures too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe organised a team of 36 to plan a trip to America focusing on adventure, sightseeing and culture. The trip culminated in an expedition at Philmont Scout Camp, a place Steve first visited many years ago and ignited his lifelong passion for scouting, which is usually only open to American Scout groups. However, using his international connections, Steve secured spaces for 3 patrols\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s always lots of teamwork, planning and preparation involved in any camp or trip. But for Steve there\u2019s always a chance to learn new things, so he likes to include everyone in event leadership allowing people to grow and learn by doing.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESteve always says, \u201CI\u2019ll do it once, I\u2019ll do it twice, and if you want to do it again then you plan it, but I\u2019ll help.\u201D\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe always divides up the workload: he asks someone to plan travel, another person to organise the food, someone else to find insurance and so on. This gives new leaders the chance to learn, so they can then do it themselves if they want to.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESteve has a lot of young leaders in his district, and he knows that you\u2019ve got to trust them, empower them and lead by example. He put forward the idea that young leaders who showed an interest could shadow an Assistant County Commissioner and have a heard voice in any discussion.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy doing this, he helps young leaders understand the bigger Scouts picture from an earlier age, while giving them the security of support from experienced volunteers.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESteve\u2019s support and enthusiasm for championing young people is working too. A few years back, when looking for the most successful DofE and Top Award Units in the Country, Scouts found that one unit had an almost 100% completion rate of young people achieving the award in a year. It was at a unit where Steve is the District Commissioner.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/17336/img-8234min.jpg","width":1170,"height":1659,"altText":"","caption":"Steve and Hannah completing alpine training while at Kandersteg International Scout Centre in Switzerland.","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EA family of achievements, including an MBE\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Ralph family\u2019s list of awards and achievements is endless.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESteve now has his Silver Wolf, Queen Scout\u2019s Award and an MBE. Sue has been a Beaver leader for over 20 years, as well as the GMW County Administrator. Hannah too has earned her Queen\u2019s Scout Award and DofE Gold Award.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESteve and Sue believe that, although we\u2019re\u00A0a youth movement, we should celebrate and recognise what our leaders have achieved. It\u2019s something for young people to aspire to and be proud of.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Steve, earning his Queen\u2019s Scout Award was the highlight in his scouting journey as a young person. Steve always wore his with pride. At the time, you weren\u2019t meant to wear the award on your uniform if you were over 25, but Steve was so proud he kept it on anyway. This rule has now changed, and Steve can still be seen with his Queen\u2019s Scout Award on his uniform today.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/17646/img-8416min.jpg","width":1170,"height":1549,"altText":"Steve is stood on the left next to Tim Peake, with Windsor castle behind them. They are both wearing Scouts uniform and their neckers. Steve\u0027s Queen Scout award, along with various other medals and badges, can be seen.","caption":"Steve at Windsor, proudly displaying his Queen\u0027s Scout Award, among others, with Scouts ambassador Tim Peake","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Silver Wolf was an unexpected award for Steve. He felt great receiving one and being recognised and valued for his commitments. It\u2019s worn with pride, although Steve thinks of it as his wife\u2019s award too, as Steve couldn\u2019t have achieved it without Sue. Sue herself was awarded the Silver Acorn in 2019 for her 20-year dedication to Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2016, Steve was awarded an MBE for services to Young People and the community, particularly for his work with Scouts. Receiving the award was a surreal experience for Steve, with Prince William presenting him with his MBE at Buckingham Palace in London.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/17333/img-8236min.jpg","width":1170,"height":1546,"altText":"","caption":"Steve and Sue collecting Steve\u2019s MBE at Buckingham Palace in London in 2016","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EWhat\u2019s next?\u00A0\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIdeally, next on his wish list, Steve would like to do something with the Scout World Bureau. He fully believes in international Scouting, which is where his passions lie, and he knows there\u2019s so much we can do to help people.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen asked what he\u2019d say to anyone wanting to try an award or volunteer, Steve said, \u201CGo for it! What are you waiting for? You\u2019ll get out of it what you put into it, go and do it, and don\u2019t let people put you off.\u00A0I\u2019ve had a fantastic ride all the way through, and I don\u2019t anticipate it ending anytime soon.\u00A0Go out there, make memories and enjoy the adventure.\u201D\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe hope to hear about your next achievements soon, Steve, Sue and Hannah. Congratulations to the whole Ralph family on everything you\u2019ve accomplished so far. You all are a true inspiration to us all and prove just how Scouts can be #GoodForYou.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"I\u2019ve loved every minute of my Scouts journey. Good leaders gave me the inspiration to explore, and the self-confidence and skills to make it happen. I hope I\u2019ve passed that on to the people around me. The only thing that\u2019s stopping you is your lack of imagination. Think big, think wide and enjoy the ride.","attribution":"Steve Ralph","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"01 June 2022","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Awards and recognition in Scouts","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/learning-development-and-awards/awards-and-recognition/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Volunteer with Scouts","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteer/volunteering-with-scouts/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"International Scouts and events","url":"/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/international-scouts-and-events/","newWindow":true}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"King\u0027s Scout Award","url":"/top-awards/kings-scout-award/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"The Duke of Edinburgh\u0027s Award","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/the-duke-of-edinburghs-award/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Explorer Belt","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/top-awards/explorer-belt/","newWindow":true}],"id":48709,"nodeName":"Volunteer Week 2022: The Ralph family\u0027s amazing achievements","title":"Volunteer Week 2022: The Ralph family\u0027s amazing achievements","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/17645/img-8413min.jpg?cc=0,0.37237008871989863,0,0.21056717363751581\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dab80037f2f0f0","caption":"Steve, Sue and Hannah Ralph","type":"jpg","size":307905,"width":1170,"height":1578,"altText":"Hannah, Steve and Sue Ralph stood by one of the walls of Windsor castle. 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