Clan Smith Society had its annual meeting on
Sunday, July 9, 2006 at 3:00 at the Clan tent at McCrae
Meadows during the Grandfather Mountain Highland
Games.
Present at the meeting were Newman Smith,
Peggy Smith, Dan Smith, Marti Smith, Debbie Clark, Mike
Clark, and Rebecca Mills.
Peggy Smith opened our meeting with a prayer.
The minutes from the 2005 annual meeting were
read and approved.
Dan Smith gave the treasurer's report. He stated
that most of Clan Smith Society's revenue come from dues
and donations. Most of the money goes for games fees
and making the tent look good. The balance at the time
of the meeting was $511.46. We still have a ways to go to
pay for next year's games and expenses.
Dan added that we were doing O. K. at that time
with enough money to pay for what games we had lined
up to participate in, and to pay for printing of the next
newsletter.
Dan passed out copies of the report for members
to read.
We discussed the possibility of doing the new games
in Beckley, West Virginia.
It was decided that we would drop the ad we have
had in the Scottish Banner for two years because there had
been no response from the ad in the two years that we had
been paying for it. Cost of the ad is $112.00 per year. We
decided that the money could be put to much better use.
Newman Smith also added that we got a lot of
response from COSCA, the Council of Scottish Clans and
Associations, who set up at various festivals and games,
some of which where we do not have a tent, and they send
us names and addresses of people who have expressed an
interest in joining Clan Smith Society. As a result, we send
out quite a few membership applications and other informa-
tion to the people whom COSCA tells us about.
It was decided that since we now have more
members who attend the Gatlinburg games than the
Grandfather Mountain games that we would move the
annual meeting to the Gatlinburg games because we would
like to have as many members present as possible at our
annual meeting. In past years there have been more mem-
bers who attended the Grandfather Mountain games than
any of our other games, but many of these members have
for one reason or another stopped coming to Grandfather
Mountain, and for quite a few of these members, the
reason is that they have grown older and in some cases are
also in ill health and sadly, are no longer able to attend the
Grandfather Mountain games. There were six in favor of
this move with one nay, so those in favor saw the motion
approved.
Dan stated that we need more conveners for the
games. Dan explained that the strain, financially and
physically, of being the only convener at some of these
games is getting to be harder all the time and he does not
know how much longer he can continue doing it, although
he really enjoys it. He just needs some help! He was hop-
ing that someone would be able to help him with the upcom-
ing Stone Mountain Games in October. Debbie and Mike
Clark said that they will be able to come and help.
We discussed that member Fran Lawson was having
a black and white banner made for the front of the Clan
Smith Society tent when we are set up at a festival or games,
which all of us appreciate very much. Fran herself could not
be at Grandfather Mountain because she and her husband
Chuck were to be leaving for a tour of Scotland in a few days.
Peggy told us about attending the seminar which had
been held on the previous day at the Chieftain's tent, in
which a representative from the National Trust for Scotland
gave a talk about the Culloden Battlefield and the Culloden
stone project for the new visitor's center and the Culloden
walk. All members present agreed that it was a very worth-
while endeavor and a moving memorial to all those who
perished at Culloden, and the fact that the battle had also
spelled the end of Highland life as it had been lived until that
date. All present decided that it would be a good thing for
Clan Smith Society to purchase one of the memorial stones,
which would be engraved with our name - Clan Smith Society.
The cost of the stone was $135.00. (Read more about this
project on pages 4 and 5 of this newsletter.)
Newman explained about Grandfather Mountain's
Cairdean Cairn (friendship cairn) in which a clan or associa-
tion could have its name put on one of the placques that will
be attached in an indented space on the cairn, which sits
behind the new office building of the Grandfather Mountain
Highland Games. The old building had been destroyed by a
flood over a year earlier and the new building is very nice, but still being paid for. This project will help to pay for the
building but also will be a nice place for clans and associations to be commemorated. All present decided that we would like to
have our name on a placque on the cairn.
(Read more about the Cairdean Cairn on page 6 of
this newsletter.)
We once again discussed buying poly-cotton
tartan material in the Ancient Smith tartan. There is a mini-
mum order of 150 yards, and so far the only definite
commitment we have is for 15 yards for Sharon Culler and
her mother Marilyn Culler. We have a long ways to go, but
we will keep asking and hopefully will find out in time to
come if we can get together an order that is that large.
In addition we updated those present on the condition
of Marilyn Culler after her surgery of the previous week. She was doing pretty well, but had had major surgery. We
discussed that we were missing Sharon and her mother
Marilyn, and that Sharon had left after Friday to go be with
her mother and to help her as she came home from the
hospital.
We also discussed how proud we all were of Sharon
and that she had represented us all so well at the Torchlight
ceremony of the previous Thursday night. This was the
second time she had done this for us.
Before we adjourned we asked for prayers especially
for Marilyn Culler, Garold and Yvette Carter, Alice Smith,
and Nat Smith, and all of our other beloved members who
were unable to be there. We also discussed other members
who we had heard from during the past year.
The meeting was adjourned.
Peggy Smith