At its annual Burns Nicht Supper, held on 29 January 2005, The Saint Andrew’s Society of Tidewater presented its Scot of the Year Award for 2004 to John Robert Wallace of Virginia Beach. This annual honor is awarded to a member of the greater Tidewater area who has made significant contributions to the local, regional, national, and/or international Scottish community.

John, who is a highly decorated retired Coast Guard Captain, is the current President of Clan Wallace Society Worldwide, a Past President of the Saint Andrew’s Society of Tidewater, a Past President of the Scottish Society of Richmond, a Past President of the Virginia-Carolina Scottish Society, and has held high offices in several other regional Scottish societies. John is also a Knight Commander in the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, a Knight Grand Officer in the Imperial Ethiopian Order of Saint Mary of Zion, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland.

For his many contributions to Scottish activities as well as his continued strong support and involvement in Scottish Affairs, John was awarded an engraved plaque by St. Andrew’s Society of Tidewater President, Joseph Hood.

The following individuals comprise the slate of officers for the year 2005. The election will take place at the March annual membership meeting scheduled for Monday, 7 March at Vivo’s at Hilltop.

The willingness to serve is the lifeblood of an organization and our thanks go to those who have stepped forward to run for office.

President	Robert Felty
Vice-President	Randy Bruce
Secretary	Robert Lockwood
Treasurer	Sandy MacGregor
Board
One Year Term	Charles Stewart
Two Year Term	Rita Hamilton *
Three Year Term	John Wallace

* This two-year term completes the term of office for the board position previously held by Carolyn Barkley who has resigned from the Board.

The Society’s annual celebration of the birthday of Robert Burns was held at the Broad Bay Country Club on Saturday, 29 January. Congratulations to Randy Bruce for his hard work in planning the event. Special thanks also are due to Rob Lockwood for his Address to the Haggis; Jeff Christman for his piping; the Haggis Party (Skip Hunter, Charlie Austin, Mike Lawler, John Wallace, and Norm Albright; Skip Hunter for the best haggis ever to grace our plates at a Burns event; Alex Cooke, Charlie Austin and the Keith crew for the raffle; C. G. Miller, John Wallace, Bob Felty, and Anne Korff for their toasts, and Ian Goodwin for a superb immortal memory.

Burns Nicht Supper Album