 International Vice Chairperson
2011 Clan Donnachaidh Annual General Meeting
I.V.C. Report to Branch Leaders
The Clan Donnachaidh Annual General Meeting was held on Friday, September 9, 2011, in Killiecrankie Hall, near Pitlochry, at 2:00 p.m. Chief Gilbert Robertson of Struan was present. All rose as the Chief was ceremonially piped in. The meeting was well attended with all seats filled. A total of 17 members were in attendance from the overseas branches. A representative from the following clan branches presented a report:
London & Southern Counties Branch
Rannoch & Highlands Branch
Southern California Branch
Florida Branch
New Zealand Branch
Carolinas Branch
Queensland, Australia
Two meetings were held prior to the AGM; an Executive Committee meeting at 10:00 a.m. and the Clan Council meeting at 11:00 a.m. Many business items were discussed and considered at these two meetings. The minutes of the Council meeting will be forwarded to the branch presidents when received.
The Southern California Branch asked that a photo of the Clan Council be taken and displayed on the society website along with the name and office of each person. This photo was taken and will soon appear on the website, and perhaps in next year’s Clan Annual. Thanks, So. California, for a great suggestion.
Total membership for the year of 1016 was reported by Membership Secretary, Cath McCartney. This is an increase from last year. Database issues are still being explored with a new system to be put into practice soon. Cath also reported that the shop, now called “The Little House”, is doing well.
Ginnie Wilkie, our Clan Secretary, reported that the Texas Branch gave a donation of £185 which was spent to refurbish the five clan benches outside the Clan Centre. Originally each bench was given in memory of persons important to the Clan. The benches have been beautifully restored. Here is a photo taken on 6 September of me relaxing on one of the benches. Thank you, Texas, for your generous donation.
James Irvine Robertson reported that the change to have the Clan Annual published in the state of Maine was a great money saver. Having them printed and mailed from there to the U.S. members saved the clan an estimated £1000. A similar plan will be followed for next year’s edition. James also thanked Bill Robertson for his help in making this project a success.
My report included the fact that you and I had a very busy and productive year. I provided a list of 11 projects we completed together and thanked the Council for the reduction in clan society dues for this year. The branches reported a mid-year total of 884 branch members, an increase of 90 from last year. Also reported were 376 society memberships paid through your branch treasurers, an increase of 130. Thank you for your hard work to encourage your members to support the Clan Society in Scotland. Let’s continue for next year. On your behalf, I requested that the dues NOT be increased for 2012. Please keep in mind that one paid subscription/membership covers one person only.
As you will remember, we all worked together to provide two surprise presentations at the AGM; the charm bracelet for Clan Secretary, Ginnie Wilkie, and the Certificate of Appreciation for Council Chairman, Andrew Duncan. Everyone enjoyed the looks of surprise on the faces of Ginnie and Andrew and each received an enthusiastic round of applause. Below is a photo of Suzi McNutt presenting the bracelet to Ginnie as Chief Gilbert smiled and gave his approval.
Here is a photo of Ginnie’s bracelet. It holds a charm for each of our clan branches and a few extras just to relate personal appreciation. Ginnie told me she loves the bracelet and asked me to convey her thanks to each of you. I want to thank Suzi McNutt for managing this project and for doing such a magnificent job. Well done, Suzi.
Awarded by Chief Gilbert, Andrew was quite surprised and delighted to be recognized with this certificate. The group applauded their approval, and it was a fun, heart-warming moment. Andrew is an extraordinary leader of the Clan Society and was congratulated for “going above and beyond the call of duty”. James Irvine Robertson provided the inspired wording for the certificate, “The Chief and the office bearers of the Clan Donnachaidh Society record their warm appreciation of the extraordinary contribution made by the Chairman, Andrew Duncan, in securing the future of the Society under very difficult circumstances.” A special thank you goes to the branch presidents who shared their signatures which were added to the certificate. Other signors were Chief Gilbert and the members of the Council Executive Committee, a total of 21.
The final item on the agenda was a letter of request from the Mid-West Branch who asked that next year’s AGM be held earlier in the year. It is believed that if the Gathering were held in the Summer months perhaps families with children out of school may be able to attend, the days are longer at that time of year, and the weather is a bit warmer. This prompted a large discussion and finally a vote was taken. There were 19 votes cast for a date in June and 7 votes for a September date. The 2012 AGM will take place on June 23.
Chief Gilbert was quite concerned about the change in dates and asked me to poll each of the branches to see if the new date would interfere with anyone’s plans to travel to Scotland. I have sent an e-mail inquiry to each branch and upon receipt of your reply, will send a written report to him. We are quite fortunate to have such wise, caring man for our Clan Chief. He always shows concern for all our members.
The Clan Gathering was a very enjoyable one this year. I want to thank Donald Reid for planning the coach tour and for always providing interesting historic places to explore. I’m sure he is already researching new places for us to visit at the 2012 Gathering. Please start making plans now to join us next year.
Christy Duncan Lange
International Vice Chairperson
September 25, 2011
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March 2011 Report
Winter is almost over and Spring is coming. My calendar shows that Spring arrives on Sunday, March 20. Here in Florida, the days are sunny and the temperatures are rising. It is time for the highland games to begin.
They are starting to dig out of the snow in Scotland and have opened the Clan Centre for a new season. We congratulate Andrew Duncan, Chairman of the Clan Council and Ginnie Wilkie, the retired but now our Clan Secretary again (God bless you Ginnie), for keeping the business of the clan going during the very tough Winter months. If not for their extraordinary efforts, the Clan Centre may have been forced to close its doors. A hearty THANK YOU to each of you from all of us at the Clan Branches.
So we move on into 2011. It is my sincere hope that the reduced amount of the annual subscription dues is a help to your members and that you will encourage not only branch membership, but also support at the international level. Now that the dues are more affordable, we anticipate that membership will increase for 2011. In a previous correspondence, I asked that your branch consider a donation on behalf of those members who decide not to support the Clan in Scotland. I trust this has been discussed by your branch and that this donation is forthcoming.
Please remember to submit a report of new officers or directors for your branch following your AGM for this year. We want to keep our Branch Leaders Contact List as current as possible.
Please be sure to review the new guidelines for submitting the dues to Scotland which have been collected at the branch level. All international dues must be received at the Clan Centre no later than July 31 to be credited for the current year. The clan website displays a two page form, one page of guidelines and one page with a form to submit the information. If your branch has a form which has been used for several years and you feel it works for you, then continue to use it, but be mindful of the new guidelines and remember to provide e-mail addresses. You can access the information at this link: http://www.donnachaidh.com/Current%20News.html then click on: “For Branch Officers: Instructions for submitting subscriptions/membership dues to the Clan Membership Secretary in Scotland”. Also, I want to thank you again for helping to update the membership lists by branch. We hope these updates will be a great help with record keeping to Catherine McCarthy, our new Membership Secretary.
One project that was launched at the end of last year has NOT been successful and has been delayed. It was proposed that all of the branches join together and submit ideas to help increase membership. These ideas would be compiled and published into a booklet and shared throughout the clan. To date, I have received ideas from just a few of the branches. Since the original idea was for all the branches to contribute, it was decided to put this “on the shelf” and try it at another time. I will keep this file open and if you decide to submit ideas from your branch, they will be welcome.
The clan’s Facebook page continues to attract users. The report for this week showed a total of 205. The page includes pictures from many branches and comments from clan members and others who are looking for a connection to a branch and to Clan Donnachaidh in Scotland.
Donald Reid has submitted an early version of activities planned for the 2011 Clan Gathering. The schedule is subject to change:
Thursday, September 8 - Coach trip
We will meet at 9.30 a.m. outside Fishers Hotel in Pitlochry and travel to Huntingtower Castle just outside Perth. It was built in the 1400's and was originally two adjoining tower houses but was made into one in the 1500's. There is a medieval painted ceiling in one room. We will then travel to Dunkeld Golf Club for lunch. There are magnificent views from the Club and they can provide anything from a bowl of soup to a full meal. After lunch we will go to Dunkeld Cathedral for a guided tour led by Iain Sinclair who is the Cathedral Beagle (he unlocks the Cathedral in the morning and locks up at night and makes arrangements for services, weddings and funerals, etc.) He has a wonderful store of stories about the Cathedral and people associated with it. Cost for the coach trip will be about £12 per person but it will depend on how many come and the cost of fuel at the time. (hosted by Donald Reid)
Evening entertainment at the Tryst in Pitlochry at 7:30 p.m., hosted by the Rannoch & Highlands Branch.
Friday, September 9 - AGM & Chief’s Reception. More details as they become available.
Saturday, September 10 – Pitlochry Highland Games
Sunday, September 11 - 12:30 p.m. Service at Struan Kirk
These certainly sound like fun and interesting activities, and we hope that you will plan to attend.
Our new Journey Home Consultant, Judy Harkin, has been quite helpful to several who asked for information on travel to Scotland. Judy would like to provide articles to the branches who publish newsletters, so please ask your branch’s newsletter editor to contact her at: journeyhometoscotland@yahoo.com
The final details are now going into the 2011 Clan Annual, so if your branch report has been delayed, please get in touch with James Irvine Robertson right away. http://www.jamesirvinerobertson.co.uk/
The collected stories and articles from Scotland have been a great success. If you missed any of them, please let me know:
- Andrew Duncan’s story of the Battle of Bannockburn and the “Tug of War” held each year at the Highland Games near the village of Ceres.
- Article in Scotland Magazine by James Irvine Robertson, “Clan Donnachaidh - The Robertsons”.
- Story from James Irvine Robertson on his ancestral kilt.
- Clan Excavations at Dull Kirk, 2002 and 2003, by Donald Reid.
We will continue to ask our members in Scotland to share their stories with us.
I want to thank Cheryl Robertson for her years of work and support on behalf of our clan. Both she and Bill have labored diligently to make the clan website, the DNA project, the Youth Certificates, and other projects a great success. Cheryl has passed the website to our new Webmaster, John Duncan at the Northern California Branch, and the Youth Certificates are now being produced by the Clan Centre in Scotland. Please e-mail your orders for the certificates to Cath at: manager@clandonna.wanadoo.co.uk
Because time passes so quickly, it will soon be time for the 2011 AGM. I ask that you begin to consider what questions and comments you would like me to take to Scotland on your behalf. My report carries your voice in Scotland.
I hope you are enjoying some signs of Spring and that your branch will grow as the flowers begin to bloom. As always, I look forward to hearing your ideas and comments. Please keep in touch.
Kind regards,
Christy Duncan Lange
International Vice Chairperson
Clan Donnachaidh Society
Wishing you and your family “A' Chàisg sona” (Happy Easter).
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