Fall/Winter 2009/2010
President’s Message
Lads and Lassies,
Every time I look through the door into my dining room, I see the Paul Ritchie Memorial Cromoch leaning against the wall. This symbol of leadership is a constant reminder of the honor of being chosen as President of St. Andrew’s Society of Williamsburg, and the awesome responsibility that goes with it.
After being installed at Burn’s Nicht, I looked out at the members present with their family and friends and saw a very special group! Almost 100 men and women in their finest Scottish attire gathered to enjoy an evening celebrating the birthday of Robert Burns and to share the camaraderie of others sharing the same heritage. And what an evening it was! Food, music, poetry and drama; the Bard himself would have enjoyed it! The Burn’s Nicht Committee of Wil Phillips, Bob Davis, Doug Burns and Heather Phillips are to be congratulated on the great job they did. Months of planning went into this event, as well as all the hard work on Saturday morning. Many thanks to them and all the board members (and their spouses!) who showed up to help decorate - and clean up afterwards.
There are many others who deserve a big thank you:
•Williamsburg Pipes and Drums and Pipe Master Lynn Newcomer
•Kent Brinkley who led the Pledge of Allegiance and gave the invocation
•Byron Adams for his always popular Ode to the Haggis
•Carl Peterson and Bob Flinn for their music and poetry
•Howard Topp for the Immortal Memory
•Harold Maxwell, Doug Burns, Wil Phillips, Heather Phillips and Bob Maccubbin for toasts
•Jim White for the slide show and Flowers of the Forest
•Byron Adams and Doug Burns for running the raffle
•Heather Phillips for running the Silent Auction
•Wayne Craigmiles for the programs, invitations and name tags
•Marshall Thomas for taking pictures and publicity
A special part of the evening was the presentation to Jim White of the 2009 Scot of the Year award. Jim, a member since 1995, is a Past President, has served several terms on the board and has been on numerous committees. Thank you, Jim, for your dedication and service to our Society. Marshall Thomas also received a President’s Award for his many years of work on The Spectator and publicity. Both awards are well deserved.
In the coming year, we will continue to share our heritage throughout the community, as well as nurture the special spirit within our group. We will have three luncheons, two Kirkins, a family picnic and Ceilidh and of course the Scottish Festival - all great opportunities to gather with family, friends and neighbors. We want to increase our membership, but also bond with each other. We have a great Board of Directors but we also want to include you in the planning of these events through our committees.
I want to sincerely thank each of you who have contributed to the Scholarship Fund. We are thrilled with the response so far, and plan to continue our support of deserving students. This issue of The Spectator has messages from two students who have received donations from our Society.
We have an exciting year ahead, and with the help of our Officers and Directors, I am honored to lead this Society forward.
Best wishes for the New Year,
Jamie Alexander Griffin
Farewell from Bob Davis
I wish to thank the Officers, Board Members, and Members of the St. Andrew’s Society for allowing me to serve as your President in 2009. At Burn’s Nicht last Saturday it was my duty and pleasure to turn over my office to Jamie Griffin who will serve as your President for this coming year. She is going to do a fantastic job and with your support our Society will continue to grow and fulfill our responsibilities to the spread of Scottish heritage and benevolence within our community.
Your support has been most gratifying and greatly appreciated this past year. My special thanks to everyone who helped plan and execute our events last year. All of you did such a great job, and I know that our membership is grateful also. I should also point out the number of new members we have added in the last two year has been outstanding. Thanks to everyone for your efforts to increase our membership.
Keep up the good work, and I’ll see you after the snows melt.
Yours aye
Bob Davis
Clan Donnachaidh
Clan Kennedy
Clan MacFarlane
