The President Message

Lads and Lassies,

I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all of you for the wonderful support that you have given to the various society events held during this past year. Our St. Andrew's Society has had an exceptionally successful year due to the significant time and talent contributed by each of you, for which I am most appreciative since it has lightened my load and made my job easier. Thanks especially to those people who provided the leadership and attention to detail in chairing each of the events and to the others who worked on the committees to ensure success.  Because of your efforts, our society is able to offer activities and events that give a brief glimpse of the history, pageantry and customs of the Scotland which still live in the hearts of many of us today.

I am particularly pleased with two actions that have taken place during this past year. First, at the Annual General Meeting in October the revision of the society’s bylaws was overwhelmingly approved.  This action is the perfect example of the determination of the membership to improve the way our society does business.  The second reflects the efforts of each of you in doing those things that help our Society to grow in a way that raises awareness of our objectives among the general population of the Williamsburg area.  The success of your efforts is evident in that we have dramatically increased our membership during the last twelve months.  In that period we have welcomed more than twenty new members, with additional applications to be acted upon by the board in the next few months.

 One of the obligations I have is that I am the archivist of the St. Andrew’s Society. In a moment of weakness years ago, I said that I’d be willing to have my home as the repository for the collection of society materials. Little did I know that the collection, described as “only a few boxes,” would fill a significant part of my attic!  Every so often I’ve taken the time to rummage through the collection, reading the minutes of past board meetings, descriptions of events held in the distant past, looking at photos of our celebrations and social gatherings.  These moments spent in the dusty attic are moments of great nostalgia, bringing back memories of bygone times and great friends.  Many of the images are those friends that are no longer with us.  What wonderful times we have had and what important contributions we have made in promoting Scottish heritage and culture here in Virginia’s “Historic Triangle.”  But the past is prologue.  We must build upon the successes of the past in order to continue the efforts of those who crafted this organization.  I concluded my State of the Society talk at the AGM by reminding everyone of our goal: ensuring that our Scottish identity and the heritage and culture of the Scots will not be lost, but remain relevant to the generations that will succeed us.   

 I’d like to close this message with a request:  I am asking for your continued active involvement in the activities of our beloved society.  We will celebrate the fortieth anniversary of our founding this spring and I urge you to use this occasion to solicit others to join us in this next phase of growth.  We must pass on to others our love of our Scottish heritage and to invite them to become partners in achieving the goals of the society.

Yours aye,

Howard S. Topp

Clan Sutherland

President, SAS-W