January, 2013
The new year is almost upon us and I wish for each of you a happy and fun-filled Hogmany. I also want to thank you for making this past year, my first as your President, an exciting year that saw new programs started and old ones expanded.
Probably the most exciting of all was the launching of our website. If you have not yet accessed it, I hope you will after you put down this piece of paper. The address is www.www.www.www.www.standrewssocietyalbany.org/beta/beta/beta/beta/beta/beta/beta/beta. I know that is a long address, but it identifies who we are and does not require anyone to guess at what abbreviations might be in place.
And then, the new book club has had a successful year. We have met six times since last March and the number of participants has grown. It is still open to members and ladies so come along and enjoy a good book, good discussion, and of course good food.
St. Andrew’s Nicht was an especially fine event in the life of the Society. On behalf of those who attended, I thank all those who participated in the program and to First VP Patrick Foy for his attention to details and planning. It was a great evening.
The third floor project is well underway. The walls have been repaired, will soon be painted, and carpet will be laid. We are now moving to the stage of discussing about how we will use the space. At the same time, we are meeting with an architect who will make proposals for the ground floor. That will be a much more complicated and expensive project so we will be holding hearings to help make the decision about the use of the space. There is general agreement that we would like the space to be income producing.
As we enter 2013 we do so with Officers who have served in 2012. That is a good thing in that each officer knows his duties and there will not be a period of training. The one exception is that James Burns, who has served on the Board of Managers left the Board and John “Jack” Fenimore was elected to take his place. The Board elected Peter McKee as its chairperson for 2013.
I appointed Jim Burns Armourer to the Society and the membership ratified that appointment at the November stated meeting. We raised our glasses to Jim at the St. Andrew’s Nicht celebration for his years of service on the Board and as the bearer of the claymore for so many years.
I appointed 1st Vice President Patrick Foy as our liaison with the National Trust for Scotland USA. We also voted to accept the invitation from the National Trust for us to be the first member of the Circle of St. Andrew. Every member of our Society will have access to the properties in Scotland managed by the National Trust.
With 2013 upon us, we realize that our Society is being required to alter how we have been doing business. This year we will be asked to become accustomed to new ways of communicating with one another by making greater use of the internet which will help bring our costs under control. At the same time, we will search for new ways to promote the Society’s image in the community and develop the membership.
One of my pet projects is to find a way to make our library accessible to researchers in the community. Norman Rice our Historian/Librarian and I have talked about this a great deal and we have shared some ideas with the membership. At this time, I am in the process of transferring the card catalogue onto a computer as the first step towards placing it onto our website. Eventually we hope that researchers will want to come to the Rooms to use our collection in their research. It is a tedious process but I am committed to the finished product.
As a side bar, I was pleased to receive two contacts in early December through the contact page on the website. One person, doing family genealogical research wanted some information, and the second owned a book written by George Sinclair a member of our Society in 1903 and offered it to us for our collection.
I encourage you to check the Member’s Page of the website regularly. You will need your Username and Password that was sent to you by email. If you do not remember that information, please contact Patrick Foy by email.
We are putting the finishing touches on a Planned Giving brochure. Please consider how the Society that has been important in your life will benefit by its being remembered in your will.
There are some fun events on the calendar so please read on and make your plans.
I look forward to seeing you at our stated meeting on January 10 at 8:00 p.m. when we will vote on the amendments to the Constitution.
UPCOMING EVENTS
January 10 Stated Meeting, 8:00 p.m. Our program will be about the Tunnicliffe Foundation.
January 15 Malt Tasting, 7:30 p.m. – Nixon McMillan will present “Smokehead” (extra rare) and Charles Marshall will present “Auchentoshan: (select)
January 25 Burns Night at the Rooms. See the reservation form in this mailing.
February 1 Black Watch Pipe Band is coming to Proctors. A group of our members is getting together for the performance and a pre-concert dinner. Watch for an email for more information.
February 2 We will co-sponsor with the Albany Institute and the National Trust for Scotland a presentation at the Albany Institute by Curt DiCamillo who will speak on “Jewels of Scandal and Desire: British Jewelry Collections and Country Houses.” Please see the enclosed flyer for more information.
March 14 Stated Meeting and Ladies Night, 8:00 p.m.
Aye yours,
Joe
Joseph W. Shook, President