Presidents Report - Another Great Summer Season!
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As the Summer draws to a close and the Fall begins we can reflect on an excellent PPBSO competition season.
First, we are proud to congratulate the Ontario pipers who competed at the Argyllshire Gathering in Oban and the Northern meeting in Inverness. A big congrats to Sean McKeown the winner of the Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal for Piobaireachd in Oban, an enormous feat.
Congrats also to Ian K. MacDonald for his 2nd in the Former Winners MSR at Oban and 3rd in the CLASP at Inverness and Joe Biggs for his 4th in the B-Grade S&R in Oban and 4th in the B-Grade H&J in Inverness.
The official confirmation of Ontario Champion Supreme solo and band winners will be announced after the Board of Directors Meeting on September 12th.
The Summer competitive season in Ontario was a big one with nine competitions starting in early June and finishing with the North Lanark Highland Games in late August. The only blemish on the schedule was the sudden cancelling of the Cambridge Highland Games by the games committee in July. We hope that Cambridge will be back next season.
In very positive news our overall solo competitive numbers are up year over year with much of the increase in numbers happening in the junior grades and, for the first time, we had serious juvenile band competitions – this bodes well for the health of competition in Ontario overall.
Our branches are gearing up for a busy off-season with knock-out contests, workshops and high-level contests coming up (some of the dates known so far):
Glengarry Cup, Ottawa 26 Sept
Youth Workshop, Ottawa 26 Sept
George Sherriff Invitational, Hamilton 21 Nov
Keep your eyes open for lots of activity in the branches this coming Fall and Winter.
Please save the dates for the PPBSO Awards Gala, set for Saturday November 28th in Hamilton and the PPBSO all members Annual General Meeting set for Saturday December 5th via Zoom. Much more information on each will be forthcoming.
In Board of Directors news: The board has appointed member Don Steele as director at large to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Mike Grey in August. Don brings an extensive financial management background and will complete the term until the upcoming AGM in December. Mike will now concentrate on the Piping & Drumming Charity that is being set up in cooperation with the PPBSO.
I would be remiss if I did not recognize and thank all the work done by everyone involved in the society’s activities this past season. The number of hours that solo competitors, band members, band organizers and leaders put in is extraordinary and very much appreciated.
To the many volunteers, judges, stewards, branches, committee and board members: your work and time is invaluable. We could not function without your dedication.
A special thanks to our operations manager, Sharon Duthart. She is the heartbeat of the organization and her tireless dedication is very much appreciated.
I look forward to seeing you out at the many off-season events.
Malkie Bow
President
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