RURAL HILL NEWS RELEASE
Contact: 704.875.3113 or office@ruralhill.net

HONORED GUEST IAIN GUNN OF BANNISKIRK, DISTINGUISHED GUEST ALAN ROBSON FROM THE UK, & DISTINGUISHED GUEST RICHARD GUNN OF CLAN GUNN ANNOUNCED FOR 2009 SCOTTISH FESTIVAL AND LOCH NORMAN HIGHLAND GAMES

April 7, 2009

HUNTERSVILLE, NC:  On April 17 – 19, the Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games will proudly welcome Honored Guest Iain Gunn of Banniskirk, Commander of Clan Gunn, Distinguished Guest Alan Robson, President of Clan Gunn Society of the United Kingdom and Distinguished Guest Richard Gunn, President of the Clan Gunn Society of North America. The Festival and Games will also host the 40^th Anniversary of the Clan Gunn Society of North America.  For complete event information, please visit www.ruralhill.net or www.ruralhillscottishfestivals.net.

Honored Guest Iain Alexander Gunn of Banniskirk was born in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland in 1933.  Iain went to George Watson’s College in Edinburgh and then on to Edinburgh University where he received an MA with Honors in Economics and became a Batchelor of Laws and a Scottish Solicitor.  After his apprenticeship with an Edinburgh Law firm, Iain was invited to join the British Shipping Federation and later became a Director with the re-named General Council of British Shipping.  In 1963, Iain married Aline (Bunty) Lavender James.  They have a son and daughter, and five grandchildren.

In 1972, Iain succeeded his uncle, William Gunn of Banniskirk, as Commander (Cean Cath) of Clan Gunn.  He is Honorary President of the Clan Gunn Society and of the Clan Gunn Society of North America.  He also chairs the Clan Gunn Heritage Trust. 

In 1981, Iain and Bunty bought Swiney House in the village of Lybster, Caithness.  They opened an art gallery in the village and this led eventually to the birth of Northlands Creative Glass, now regarded as one of Europe’s centers of excellence in glass-making.  Iain and Bunty are directors of Lybster Heritage Trust, and Iain sits as Chairman of the South East Caithness Development Group and the Latheron, Lybster and Clyth Community Development Company.  In addition, he chairs the Lybster Harbour Society and is also a director of the Helmsdale Heritage and Arts Society.

Distinguished Guest Alan Robson will complete his three years of office as President of the UK Clan Gunn Society at the end of the International Gathering on August 2, 2009.  This followed five years as Society Treasurer.

He had a full career in industry in the UK and following retirement at the age of 60, was persuaded by his own company and also by friends in industry to become a consultant.  With his wife Sally as a partner, Alan formed a successful consultancy which they managed for nearly seven years.  In 1945, Alan was admitted as a Chorister into the Choir of Westminster Abbey. When he left the choir he was admitted into the Brotherhood of St. Edward of Westminster Abbey.  The Brotherhood are the Servers at the Abbey providing Crucifer (cross bearer), Taperers, Banner Bearers, Clerk and other duties as required at weekday and Sunday Services. They also serve at State Services such as Royal Weddings, State Occasions and Funerals including the very emotive funeral of Princess Diana.  Alan also sings in a Male Voice Choir that gives a monthly musical tour of the Abbey from which all of the proceeds are donated to selected charities.  The tour is booked for the next seven years!

Distinguished Guest Richard (Rich) Gunn is the current President of the Clan Gunn Society of North America.  Elected in 2006, Rich first joined the Clan Gunn Society in 1987 after visiting a tent at the Santa Rosa Games hosted by the San Francisco Caledonian Club.  Rich did not know that the name Gunn was Scottish until he found his name on a clan tent at those games. 

Rich and his wife Linda are both retired after successful careers in the field of law enforcement.  They live in the Sacramento, CA area near their two sons and their grandchildren.  They have a daughter who lives in San Antonio, TX.  Linda enjoys doing genealogy research and has traced Rich’s family back to Edinburgh in the late 1700s. Rich and Linda are involved in many volunteer activities and look forward to seeing many of you in Scotland later this year at The Gathering 2009.

The Clan Gunn Society of North America is proud to celebrate our 40^th anniversary at The Rural Hill Festival and Games.  The Clan Gunn Society of North America had its beginnings in the mid-1960s when Donald Bruce Williamson of Atlanta began writing to author Neil Gunn about forming a Clan Gunn Society in the U.S.  The Clan Gunn Society had recently been formed in Scotland.  At the time, Neil Gunn was too ill to write and Donald was referred to his secretary, Iain Gunn of Banniskirk.  Donald and Iain corresponded over the next few years, and following the death of Neil Gunn, Iain Gunn of Banniskirk was appointed Commander of The Clan Gunn.

In 1967, Donald went to the Grandfather Mountain Games and met Emmett and Joy Wilson.  Donald and Emmett are the first Gunns known to have marched carrying their tartan at those Games.  (The tartan was actually a skirt loaned by Donald’s wife, Bobbie.)  In 1969, an organizational meeting was held on the field at the Grandfather Mountain Games and officers were elected, Donald Williamson being the first President.  Ties were established with the Society in Scotland.

The Society has approximately 1,100 active members in 23 branches internationally.  The Society of North America supports the Society in the United Kingdom and has provided funding to help acquire a church located in the Valley of the Gunns in Scotland.  That church is the Kildonan Kirk, and the original church is the burial site of many of the Gunn Chiefs.  A Clan Gunn Heritage Center has been established in Latheron, Caithness, and genealogy records are available at its museum.  Records submitted by members are cataloged and cross referenced.  More information can be found at www.clangunn.us.   

The Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games offer something for everyone including visits with the Council of Scottish Clans and Associations, Scottish genealogy and Family Tree DNA.  The fun begins with The Call o’ the Clans on Friday, followed by a Scottish Country Welcome Dance.  Saturday and Sunday offer Scottish heavy athletics and a variety of competitions that anyone can enter.  Other activities include a Children’s Activity Village, Scottish and Celtic music and dancing, the Scottish American Military Society, Highland Cows, and a variety of demonstrations and seminars.  Sanctioned competitions include Individual Piping and Drumming, Pipe Band Competition, Carolinas Open Highland Dancing Championships, Scottish Country Dance Competition, Scottish Fiddle Competition and Scottish Harp Competition. 

Saturday and Sunday also offer one of the highlights of the Games - the Professional Scottish Heavy Athletic Events including the 16 lb Stone, 22 lb Hammer Throw, 28 lb Weight Throw, 56 lb Weight Throw, 56 lb Weight Toss for Height, Turning the Caber, and Tossing the Sheaf.   Note: Professional athletes are by invitation only. 

Complete Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games information is available online at www.ruralhill.net or www.ruralhillscottishfestivals.net. Discount tickets are available.  Tickets may be purchased in advance via the website or admission at the gate is as follows:  

• Friday Evening Call o’ the Clans: FREE

• Friday Evening Scottish Country Welcome Dance: Gallery: $3/Participant: $15

• 2-Day Ticket (Sat. & Sun. and includes the Sat. evening Concert and Jam): $25

• Saturday Admission (includes the evening Concert and Jam): $20

• Saturday Evening Concert and Jam Only: $10

• Sunday Admission: $10

• Saturday Evening Scottish Country Dance: Gallery: $3/Participant: $20

• NOTE: Saturday & Sunday Parking: $5 per day (Includes one commemorative program per car)

• Proceeds support the preservation of Rural Hill.

Rural Hill is located at 4431 Neck Road (off Beatties Ford Road) in Huntersville, 28078.  The former homestead of Major John and Violet Davidson, the 265 acre site is maintained and promoted by Rural Hill, Inc. (CVSS).  Rural Hill features annual events such as the Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games, The Amazing Maize Maze at Rural Hill and the Rural Hill Sheepdog Trials.  CVSS is a non-profit organization supported through membership and donations.  For more information on events or for financial support accepted securely online, please visit www.ruralhill.net. 

###