A Girlguiding Dunbartonshire volunteer is celebrating an incredible milestone after dedicating 50 years of service.
Barrie Stewart’s guiding journey began in 1966 when she joined 3rd Lenzie Brownies. She later became a Guide with 2nd Lenzie and continued as a Ranger in Lenzie, enjoying the opportunities and friendships guiding provided.
Barrie began volunteering at a young age. At just 11-years-old, she started helping with 4th Lenzie Brownies as a pack leader. Three years later she became a young leader and continued supporting the unit until she was 18.
Barrie said: “At 18 I became Brown Owl of 2nd Lenzie Brownies and I’ve never quite left.”
Barrie’s many roles
Over the decades she has taken on many roles within Girlguiding, including running a Ranger unit and supporting young leaders across the division.
Barrie remains actively involved today, supporting Rainbows, Brownies and Guides in Kilsyth. She also volunteers as district commissioner for Lenzie and is a trainer with Girlguiding Scotland, helping to develop and support other volunteers across the organisation.
Evolution of Girlguiding
During her time in guiding, Barrie has seen the movement evolve significantly.
“Guiding has changed totally – Olave Baden-Powell was very much to the fore when I first joined,” she explained. “What I have noticed is the rate of change has increased over the years.”
Rewarding moments
For Barrie, a former chemistry teacher, the most rewarding moments have been watching girls achieve things they never thought possible.
“My mountaintop moments have almost all involved the girls achieving things they thought they couldn’t,” she said. “Although weekends at Netherurd were always pretty memorable too.”
One particularly special highlight was attending a Royal Garden Party at Palace of Holyroodhouse.
“I was honoured to attend the King’s Garden Party at Holyrood – we didn’t just attend, he stopped and spoke to us too.”
‘You never get bored’
Reflecting on her decades in guiding, Barrie says the friendships and experiences have kept her involved for so long.
“Guiding has always offered me new challenges, all undertaken along with other like-minded people – it’s just fun and you never get bored. You make lots of friends and do some crazy things while laughing out loud.”
As she marks her 50th year of volunteering, Barrie encourages others to get involved. She said: “To anyone thinking about becoming a leader – go for it. You will learn lots of new skills that you never knew existed.”