2011 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 

 

 

Following our new tradation begun last year, we gathered at the Braeburn Country Club for our Annual General Meeting and, despite a bit of rainy weather, had an enthusiastic group of Grampians to meet, socialize, conduct the business of the organization and to elect new board members and officers.
With long-time members, including three founding members of the Houston Grampian Association, we also had newer members and Joe Edd Nelson, the president of the Houston branch of the English Speaking Union join us. Following the election of board members, a photo was taken and they are shown to the the left and are from left to right: Moira Holden, John Lee, Carol Decker, Ross Davidson, Rebecca Roberts, Mary Metz, Quin McWhirter and Joanne Zumbrun.

Our format was a bit different this year as we conducted the majority of the business meeting prior to lunch, which was tastefully prepared by the chef. Following lunch, we enjoyed the vocal talent of Elizabeth Sjoberg in her acapello presentation of a variety of English, Sottish and Irish songs, some written by the great poets.

Rebecca Roberts worked hard in coordinating the event and along with Moira Holden, who decorated tables and who did all of the photography for us, made it a very special event. Rebecca and Mary Metz both spoke at the beginning of the meeting and are shown together on the right at the podium.

As the meeting opened, Rebecca introduced our Chairman, Mary Metz who in turn introduced our President, Ross Davidson. He graciously thanked the board and membership for good work during the previous year. Reports were then presented by each of the HGA committee chairs regarding the activities for which they are responsible and then we enjoyed lunch. Next, board members were elected to replace the outgoing directors, and Ross Davidson was re-elected by the new board to serve again as our President.

Our choices from the menu this year were Snapper Piccata and steak salad, a difficult choice for sure but a winner either way. Thanks to Moira's good photography, below are our members and guests enjoying fellowship during the luncheon and looking forward to the great entertainment by Elizabeth Sjoberg which concluded the day's activities. Elizabeth is shown in the center photo below during her presentation.




 

2010 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 

 

On a bright, sunny day, with a stunning, panoramic view from the glass wall bordering our meeting room at the Braeburn Country Club, we held our Annual General Meeting at mid-day again this year. We were privileged to have five original,
founding members of the Houston Grampian Association present to participate in the meeting and they are shown here on the left, Mickey Carmichael, Ida Lou Nicholas, Helen Schmolke, Aurise Bain and Jack Hume.

The meeting was upbeat, due to the very successful year we've had and the anticipated even more successful year ahead. We were also treated to a very special vocal presentation of British, Scottish and Irish songs by Elizabeth Sjoberg at the end of the meeting, done acapello and beautifully sung.

With a perfect blend of long-time members and new members, the gathering was informative and entertaining, we again had representation from the English Speaking Union with us. They have attended and participated in many of our recent events and we are honored at their interest and participation. The webmaster is especially grateful to Moira Holden who not only worked in organizing the meeting, but also took all of the photos for this year's event, and she is shown to the right with our guest vocal soloist, Elizabeth Sjoberg.

Our meeting this year was also organized in large part, by Rebecca Roberts, shown to the right, who opened the meeting and who coordinated the introduction of our procedures. Prior to lunch, she introduced our Chairman, Mary Metz, who offered welcoming remarks to the group and then turned the meeting over to our president, Aurise Bain and we proceeded to conduct the annual business reports and elections, with each committee chair discussing the activities of their responsibility. Following the committee reports, board members were elected to replace the outgoing directors. Elected for the first time to the board, was Carol Decker from Scottish Development, and re-elected to the board were John Fowler and Rebecca Roberts. Immediately after the election, the 2010 board members retreated to elect a new president for this year, and as a result, our new president is Ross Davidson. He is shown to the left with outgoing president, Aurise Bain. Both have worked tirelessly in the past years to lead the organization and to make sure that our key activities and events have been successful. Ross has chaired our OTC breakfast for the last two years and under his leadership, it has grown increasingly profitable and has attracted excellent speakers. We look forward to his leadership of the entire organization with great hope for an enriched schedule of successful activities.

Everyone agreed that the meal prepared and served to us by the Braeburn Country Club, was excellent, and was a highlight of our gathering. Shown below are some of the happy folks who were on hand to enjoy fellowship, a great meal and a well-conducted business meeting, and topped off with most enjoyable entertainment.




 

2009 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 

In a real change of pace, the 2009 Annual General Meeting of The Houston Grampian Association was held at the Sam Houston Steamboat House and it was a delightful change, as our members met for luncheon to elect board members for the coming year, hear reports of our activities of 2008 including a very encouraging financial report. As an extra treat, the owner of the Sam Houston Steamboat House, Charlie Fogarty told us about the incredible life of Sam Houston and of Texas history before and during his entry into the independent country of Texas. We learned of his time as a legislator and Governor of the State of Tennessee prior to becoming the President of Texas and then, when it became a state, the first Governor of Texas. Charlie is shown in the photo to the right and was an excellent host. To the left is a magnificent painting of Sam Houston that was painted for and used in the 1936 San Jacinto Centennial Celebration and Parade.

Our members began arriving and touring the historic Steam Boat House with all of the paintings and photos on display of so much of Texas history. Some of the early arrivals are shown here in the photo to the left and they had a chance to see quite a bit of the displayed documents and photos before the meeting began. We also had some time to greet our new members who were in attendance and to enjoy a bit of fellowship for which we are so well known. It was also our pleasure to welcome two officers of the English Speaking Union as visitors to our meeting and they shared with us about their activities which were of interest to our members as well. Some of them had joined us last year for our first annual high tea in honor of Her Majesty's birthday and indicated they will plan to be with us again this year for that event.

The Sam Houston Steam Boat House has been rated as one of Tom Horan's top ten steakhouses in Texas and we began ordering from their great luncheon menu and in addition to the great hospitality and program, were treated to a wonderful lunch. After ordering and while we waited for our food to be brought to us, we began the business meeting with remarks by our Chairman, Mary Metz and our President, Aurise Bain who presided. Reports were given by each of our committee chair persons and we quickly got a sense of a very healthy and growing organization. Some of the new members present were Larry Russell and his daughter, Laura Russell and they are shown in the photo to the right with Aurise and Stewart Bain.

Our meeting was held in the Log Cabin Room of the Steamboat House and the walls are constructed from a recycled 200 year old log cabin from Pennsylvania. It is one of the most popular dining facilities for groups of 12 or more in the Houston area. The committee reports mentioned above included discussions of our Student Nursing Exchange program and a proposed Police Officer Exchange program now being negotiated with the City of Houston Police Department and the Grampian Police of Aberdeen, Scotland. Also discussed were reports on our finances, our interaction with Houston's Sister Cities programs of which we are an integral part, a cultural report, a membership report and our upcoming OTC Breakfast meeting. Finally, a report was given on our website, which has become a popular place to visit by prospective HGA members and by our own membership. The photo to the left shows long time members, including Past President Dwight Beach and his wife, Carol.

Moving on with the business of the day, we elected three board members for three year terms and they are Moira Holden, Carol Mills and Louise Sprot and each of them is pictured on our administrative page of the website. Following the election of new board members, the board met briefly to elect officers and with the recommendation of the nominating committee, headed by Ross Davidson, the 2008 officers were asked to serve for another year, those being Aurise Bain, president, Quin McWhirter, vice-president and John Fowler, treasurer. A secretary will be elected at a future board meeting. At the conclusion of the business meeting and lunch, the meeting was adjourned and we stayed and visited for awhile longer. We look forward to another very successful year in 2009. Shown in the phot to the right are (left to right) our new board member, Louise Sprot, outgoing board member Marianne Duffin, board member Rebecca Roberts, Chairman Mary Metz and board member John Lee.

Among the many beautiful paintings that we saw were those below of the Battle of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto. Also shown are many of the flags that have been a part of Texas history.

 

 

2007 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 

 

The 2007 Annual General Meeting of The Houston Grampian Association was held at the Braeburn Country Club on Saturday, March 10 to discuss the business of the previous year, plans for the coming year and to elect new directors and officers for the organization. Since the passing of our "Perpetual Chairman", C. Jim Stewart, we have not had a chairman and this year, a highlight of the evening was the election of our new Chairman, Mary Metz, MBE and our new President, Bob Gilbert, founding member of the Houston Grampian Association. Mary has long been our "go to" person, with the knowledge of protocol and procedures for us to follow in our relationship with our Sister City members from Aberdeen, with the office of the Mayor of Houston and the British Consulate, as well as appropriate matters of organization and communication.

Our outgoing President, James Prappas was unable to attend the meeting this year, as he was on a great Spring Break vacation trip with his children. In his place, our Treasurer/Vice President, Tom Gossett called the meeting to order and asked Bob Gilbert to do the blessing. We enjoyed a delicious dinner with lots of visiting. At the conclusion of the meal, Bob Gilbert proposed a Loyal Toast to the President of the United States and past President, Dwight Beach proposed a toast to Her Majesty, the Queen.

The business meeting then began with reports given by committee chair persons, including reports on the upcoming OTC breakfast in April, the budget, Sister Cities, Visiting Nurses, Website and then a report from the nominating committee by Mary Metz to offer nominations for open Board positions. Following her report, it was moved that nominations cease and that the slate proposed by the nominating committee be elected by acclamation. The motion passed.

New directors who were elected to serve three year terms are Aurise Bain, Simon Frame and Bob Gilbert. To fill open two year terms, Mary Metz and John Fowler were elected. The board members then retreated to elect a new president for the coming year and returned to announce that Bob Gilbert has been elected to that position and that Mary Metz was elected to be our first Chairman since the death of Jim Stewart. Quin McWhirter was elected Vice President and John Fowler was elected Treasurer, after Tom Gossett served us so ably in that position for the last ten years.

Our entertainment for the evening was provided by Gilbert Sedeņo, who served as our disc jockey and provided background music during dinner and music for dancing following the business meeting. Due to the fact that our meeting was held during the time of Spring Break and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, the crowd was a bit smaller than usual, but of extremely high quality and those who were present enjoyed the time together visiting and dancing.