John Becomes Deputy National Scout Commissioner

At a meeting held on February 20th, 2019, the National Executive Committee approved the recommendation of the National Scout Commissioner to appoint Mr. Mark Ainsley John as a Deputy National Scout Commissioner for a term of three years commencing March 1st, 2019.

Mark has been an active member of the Scout Movement for the last thirty-two years. He joined the movement in 1986 as a Cub Scout and moved through the Scout and Venture Scout sections, eventually becoming an adult volunteer as an Assistant Cub Scout Leader at 3rd Trinidad Sea Scout Group in 1999. He continued to serve the group in the Cub and Scout sections for several years.

Mark was the first Youth Representative on the National Executive in 2000 and has served in many leadership roles over the years, including ADC (Cubs) for San Fernando District, Youth Training Programme Coordinator and most recently as Headquarters Commissioner (Scouts). He has played an instrumental role in the development of the revised Youth Programme as well as the redevelopment and reinvigoration of programs such as JOTA/JOTI.

Mark is a Gilwellian and has been a member of the Training Team since 2004 having successfully completed several theoretical and practical courses held by the Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago and the Interamerican Scout Region. Professionally, Mark is a Secondary School Teacher and holds both B.A. History and B.Ed. degrees. He recently completed a Certificate in Nongovernmental Organizational Management and is currently pursuing an MPhil History from The University of the West Indies.

In this role, Mark will be responsible for leading the strategic direction and overseeing the strategic development of the youth programme with the outcome of increasing the number of young people involved in Scouting.