The Scottish North American Leadership Conference for the first time was in Canada at the University of Guelph in Guelph Ontario.
Representing the Clan MacKenzie Society were Sharie and Earle Argue, and Gary MacKenzie a
Katie McCullough, Centre for Scottish Studies, Simon Fraser University
Brian McQueenie, Sons of Scotland
John Cheery, St Andrew’s Society of Detroit
Karen McLeod – Discussion on how to bring youth into the organization.
Please enjoy the recap courtesy of the Scottish Banner
Sixty members of the Scots diaspora from across Canada and the US congregated at the University of Guelph for the annual Scottish North American Leadership Conference. While normally held in the US, the conference was brought to Canada as part of the Canada150 celebrations. In an effort to provide a truly Scottish element, the conference was scheduled to coincide with the nearby Fergus Scottish Festival.
The Conference began with a banquet, held in the Faculty Club of the University where delegates were able to network over cocktails ahead of the opening address by Chris Maskell, head of Scottish Affairs, Canada. Chris spoke of the work of the Scottish government both in Scotland and their work to support the diaspora.
Chris’ talk was followed by grace and blessing by Rev John Borthwick, minister of St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Guelph. After salad, we were treated to the presentation of the haggis, the address by bard David Campbell and finishing off with a toast. After dinner, we were treated to some wonderful Celtic music by Mystic Fyre.
Friday saw a very stimulating array of talks, opened by Youth Ambassador, Rianna Crawford who shared her vision of engaging youth in our clans, societies and organizations. Rianna was followed by Richard Knight of VisitScotland who shared some wonderful videos and had all of us ready to pack our bags and head to our ancestral homeland. Our theme for the conference was sharing our collective passion for our history and heritage and looking for ways to engage our youth in our organizations so that we can ensure our organizations last into the future.
History, Heritage and Youth
The day was divided into three segments: History, Heritage and Youth. The first two segments saw two speakers followed by a panel discussion. After each segment, there was a break and the chatter and excitement carried on into these respite periods as well. After lunch, the entire delegation joined up with Clan MacFarlane Worldwide who were enjoying an exhibit of Scottish Medieval Charters from the Scottish Special Collections of the University of Guelph’s Library. This was a wonderful learning opportunity for everyone to see the gems contained within the archives of the University.
Our last segment for the day was our Youth. Rather than speakers, the Youth formed a panel and took questions from the floor to assist delegates in understanding the types of things that are of importance to their generation so that we can work on those ideas to help us to breathe new life into our clans, societies and organizations. Perhaps the best indicator of the day, as Gus Noble, Chicago Scots and founding member of the Scottish North American Leadership Conference, said in his closing address, “a good conference is one in which the time runs out before the conference (and discussion) does”
The Scottish North American Diaspora was well represented at the Conference. The ability to meet and network was a wonderful by-product of the conference. The energy raised and the enthusiasm shared provided the necessary renewal for all of us to continue forward with our organizations, full of new ideas to strengthen them. We look forward to continuing the dialogue, to hearing more about the Scottish Youth Organization that is being formed, and supporting one another over the coming year.
We all look forward to the next opportunity to gather again.