President's Message
December, 2009
Dear Clansmen,
The summer of 2009 has certainly been a busy time. Trips to Grandfather Mountain, Lochearnhead and to
The Gathering in Edinburgh capped an incredible month of whirlwind Clan MacLaren activity for Sylvia and me.
We then had just enough time to catch our breath before hosting an incredibly successful 2009 CMSNA AGM in
Laurinburg, NC on October 2 and 3. We were back in Laurinburg, having visited there for the 2004 AGM, in
support of the inaugural Scotland County Highland Games. The Games, and our participation in them, was
hugely successful whether measured by attendance, enthusiasm, or substance.
I will have a good bit to say in this issue of the Standard relative to the Gathering and the time spent
in Scotland. We were able to hold much in the way of detailed conversations with officers in our sister
Clan Societies as well as with the Chief and Maida. As always, there remains much to do, and the
opportunities to align the various Societies with respect to items of common interest come far too seldom,
but it is comforting when we can see first hand just how much agreement there is amongst the MacLarens.
As always, we enjoyed our visit and find ourselves already planning our next trip.
The Gathering was itself a huge success, far exceeding what had been expected by the pre-event media
coverage in Scotland. Much of the Scottish press coverage in the days before the event highlighted
a notion that modern day clan affiliation was an anachronistic, romantic, attachment to by-gone days.
Clan affiliation meant nothing to the modern Scots, and the event would be only about and for the foreign
visitors cloaked in tartan and mis-guided romance. I’m happy to say the press could not have been more
wrong. The Scots turned out in droves as participants and spectators at the Holyrood Games and the
Clan Parade. It was an absolutely delirious atmosphere in Edinburgh and I can assure everyone that
identification with clan and family does still matter. Just ask any of the 67,000 Games attendees,
or the 8000 or so participating in the parade, or the 30,000 odd spectators standing along the parade
route cheering for hours. It matters!
I would also like to commend Donald for the speech he delivered on the floor of the Scottish Parliament
as part of the first-ever Clan Convention. Donald’s talk was the last of the keynote speeches, and was
the highlight of the entire Convention. His talk on the responsibility of the Highland Chiefs is
available on the CMSNA website. Please take the time to read it. We in Clan MacLaren are blessed with
an enthusiastic and energetic Chief. Sadly many other clans are not, and we can be all more grateful
for who we have and all that he and Maida do.
The fall highland games season is now in full swing. This is a time of year for many festivals and there
is most likely one near you. Please make the effort to go and support the Clan.
Creag an Tuirc,
Steve
