Feb 25   Annual General Meeting at the Braeburn Country Club. The format this year will again be a luncheon at 11:00 am instead of a formal dinner. Cost is $20 per person for members and $25 per person for non-members. There will be a superb guest soloist to sing Scottish, Irish and British songs, in addition to our normal business of reviewing the year and electing new directors and officers.

May 1   Offshore Technology Conference Scottish breakfast, 9:00 am at the Hilton Post Oak Hotel. Our keynote speaker will be Mr. David T. Cochrane, Vice President, ExxonMobil Upstream who will address global energy needs, trends and metrics in the 21st century. He is currently Vice President, Commercial & Technical, ExxonMobil Upstream Ventures.

Mr. Cochrane joined Esso UK in 1978 and spent the first 17 years of his career in various Marketing, Operations and Supply related positions in the Downstream, before moving to the Upstream side of the business in 1995. Between 1995 and 2006 he held a number of Coordination and Management positions in ExxonMobil’s gas business, including 4 years in Qatar as Commercial Manager developing the Qatargas II and Ras Laffan 3 LNG projects. In 2006 David joined ExxonMobil Development Company, initially as Strategic Planning Manager and latterly as Manager of the Planning & Commercial Department. He took his current position on May 1, 2009. A native of Scotland, David holds a BA (Hons) in Business from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh

This year's event will again be sponsored with our partners, BABC to benefit the programmes of the Houston Grampian Association and the British American Foundation of Texas (BAFTX). Admission has changed: $35 HGA & BABC members & $45 non-members if paid in advance; $40 HGA & BABC members & $50 non-members if paid at the door on the day of the event. Corporate Sponsors $999 for table of 10 plus maximum branding and recognition, $699 for Table Sponsors for table of 10 plus some branding and recognition. With our reduced price for members who reserve in advance, we expect a robust attendance, and encourage your reservations as early as possible. Click HERE to print a registration form for admission or to be a sponsor for us this year. It also provides instructions for mailing your reservation.

We are most grateful to the organizations who are sponsoring this year's breakfast and appreciate very much their enabling our successful accomplishment. They are:

May 15   HBU student nurses, Evelyn DeLeon and Christin Handy depart Houston for Aberdeen exchange visit, returning to Houston on May 29.

June 26   - Houston Grampian Association invites you to attend Her Majesty's Official Birthday Tea on the afternoon of June 26, from 2 - 4 pm at the Hotel ZaZa Houston. The hotel is located at 5701 Main Street, and the cost will be $22.50 for members and $27.50 for non members. Her Majesty's birthday is actually on June 21 but our celebration will be on the 26th. For further information you may contact Rebecca Roberts at rebeccaroberts2006@gmail.com or by telephone at 281-460-3596.

Sep 17   Student nurses from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Susan Naysmith and Ryan Whyte, arrive for exchange visit to Houston, returning to Scotland on October 2.

November 30  St Andrews Day Quiz at the Black Lab Pub, 4100 Montrose Blvd. - 6.00 pm ‘til ……….. Come and enjoy a fun night and test your Scottish Knowledge! i.e. What are the four ingredients of Atholl Brose? (Not to worry, teams will all include Scottish experts, so the competition will be fair.) Dinner and drink at your own cost – friendship and fun at no cost. Please RSVP to RebeccaRoberts2006@gmail.com if you are coming.

** indicates events not sponsored by HGA, but which are of interest to our members.

January 24   56th Annual Burns Supper at the Marriott Briar Park hotel. **

February 15   Celtic Festival at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, will be held in conjunction with The Gathering of the Celts from noon to 5:30 pm - 19th Street at Heights Blvd. in the Houston Heights. Following the church's 10:30 am service as bagpipers lead everyone to the "Kirking of the Tartans" and on to musical performances on two stages. Performers include the World Champion St. Thomas Pipe and Drum Band, Jed Marum, Hugh Morrison, Constant Billy, Kristen Jensen, Ghost of a Rose, Celtic Chorus of Houston, Good Times Scottish Dancers and Kilderkin International Dancers. A wide range of artisans and craft vendors, great food and drink, games, crafts and activities for children of all ages will be available. Admission is $5 per family, $3 per person and free for children under 10. Call 713-861-5596 or www.saintandrewsepiscopal.org/celtic-festival-2009/ for more details. **

Feb 27   Annual General Meeting at the Sam Houston Steamboat House, 8045 N. Sam Houston Parkway W. Houston, TX 77064. We're changing the format this year and this will be a luncheon at 11:00am instead of a formal dinner. Cost will be $22.50 per person (members) and $30.00 per person (non members). We will be entertained by an historic figure and enjoy a delicious luncheon.
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We need to confirm the number of attendees by the 15th of February so please send details ASAP. For more information, e-mail:Rebecca@ElvesandMore.org or Call 281-460-3596. Reservations can be made by sending your name, address and telephone number to our treasurer, John Fowler at 1050 Del Norte Street, Houston, TX 77018, and you may pay by check or M/C or Visa by providing your card number and expiration date.

April 6th   Tartan Day Memorial Celebration from 1:00 - 3:00 pm at the San Jacinto Monument in honor of all those of Scottish ancestry who fought for Texas independence. We will have several direct descendents of the Battle of Texas Independence, including Sam Houston IV! Participants will receive free admission to the museum and a private viewing of the film “Texas Forever!”, a short but excellent film on the history. Visit the website for more information and directions http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/. For more information, call Sia Beaton at 832-659-5501.**

May 16-17   Houston Highland Games and Celtic Festival will be held at The Houston Farm Ranch Club, 1 Abercrombie, Houston TX 77084. Activities include piping drumming, highland dance competitions, The Third Coast Heavy Athletics Championships, Celtic Youth Art competition, shortbread and knobby knees contest. Headline entertainers are Jiggernaut, Clandestine, Teribus and Ed Miller and Friends. For more information, email Becci Himes at bhimes@houstonhighlandgames.com and view details on their website at houstonhighlandgames.com.**

To see photos of last year's event, click HERE. Please send checks made payable to Houston Grampian Association or CC details to: Rebecca Roberts 5214 Pinewood Springs Drive Houston Texas 77066 Or call 281 460 3596. Please RSVP by June 20th 2009

Sep 25 or Oct 2   Dinner at HBU honoring student nurses from Houston and Aberdeen with discussion of their experience. A new feature of this exchange visit is the possible addition of a practicing nurse from Aberdeen to visit us along with the two student nurses. Date TBD,

Oct Date TBD   HGA Ceilidh to enjoy fellowship, dancing and networking, location TBD. For those who don't know, a Ceilidh (pronounced "Kay-lay", emphasis on 1st syllable) is many things. It derives from the Gaelic word meaning a visit and originally meant just that (and still does in Gaelic). It can also mean a house party, a concert or more usually an evening of informal Scottish traditional dancing to informal music.

November 6 The Houston St. Andrew's Ball 2009, 7.00pm - 1.00am The Junior League of Houston Ballroom 1811 Briar Oaks Lane. PRIORITY BOOKING FOR HGA MEMBERS. The price (TBD) per person includes a champagne reception, traditional Scottish 3 course dinner, and additional entertainment to be announced later.

** indicates events not sponsored by HGA, but which are of interest to our members.