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CAITHNESS COMMUNITY AWARDS 2006 - CITATIONS
YOUNG ACHIEVER IN THE ARTS (aged 18 and
under)
TONI MACGREGOR
(Award presented by June
Love, UKAEA)
 This young lady has danced since she was 4 and has gone on to become one
of the best and most recognised freestyle dancers in the UK. She has been
part of the Scottish Team at the International Team match for the past 6
years in a row and has won many fabulous titles. To stay the best she has
to compete against the best and travels 10,000 to 15,000 miles in the UK
every year to attend competitions. She is a determined and dedicated young
lady and even though she has been plagued with hamstring and knee injuries
over the past 3 years she has taken care of herself to recover properly
and has managed to remain at the top of her field. Titles she has won
include - Open to the World Grand Prix Champion(Bristol), UK Disco Kid
Champion (Blackpool), British Champion (Blackpool), Eurodance
International Champion(Bristol),Great British Champion (Stoke on Trent),
European Champion (Bristol), Dancer of the Year Champion (SoT), Miss
Freestyle Champion (SoT), City of Edinburgh Champion, All Scotland
Champion, Norwegian Freestyle Day Champion and Rising Stars of Scotland
Champion. Toni has also been the recipient of a Le Classique De Danse
Award which is classed as the 'Oscars of the dancing world'. She received
this from Lionel Blair for her freestyle dancing.
ACHIEVEMENT IN THE ARTS � 2 AWARDS
ADDIE HARPER & GORDON GUNN
ADDIE HARPER (Award presented by
Murray Lamont, Mackay�s Hotel)
Addie isan extremely talented musician who is well known all over
Scotland in musical circles, with numerous recordings that continue to
give pleasure to people. He is also an accomplished composer of music. At
the same time he is a wonderful teacher of different instruments to many
youngsters and adults too. He is a complete joy to listen to (and to watch
because he is always smiling). However, in addition to this and one of
many reasons he was nominated, is that he is always very willing to
support local charities and has given freely of his services on many
occasions. He is a great credit to Wick and a great ambassador for
Caithness.
GORDON GUNN
(presented by Murray Lamont, Mackay's Hotel after the event)
 Gordon Gunn is a very talented violinist, composer and musician. His
flexibility allows him to play in any style, from classical to traditional
to jazz. He is above all, an inspiring teacher keen to ensure that his
pupils, old and young, enjoy learning and bring a professionalism to the
continuity of Scottish traditional music. A modest man, he is said to be
"A hero Unsung" in his own county, but his collaborations with musicians
in Scotland and abroad bring Caithness to the notice of a very wide
audience. He is a worthy ambassador of all that is good and innovative in
Scottish Music.
(Unfortunately Gordon was unable to attend this evening due to other
commitments.
LIFELONG SERVICE TO THE ARTS (2
AWARDS) MISS EMMA BRUCE & MRS MINA MACKAY
Miss EMMA BRUCE (Award presented by
Willie Watt, Subsea 7)
 Miss Bruce taught music in Wick for many years. During this time she
taught hundreds of children to play the piano. A number of her pupils went
on to follow careers in music, with some becoming teachers and thus
passing on to others the knowledge and skills they had learned from Miss
Bruce. Emma has until recently nurtured musical talents and for more than
six decades she has been the guiding light for students of piano.. She was
also church organist for a long, long time in the Central Church in Wick.
For some of her pupils the unique combination of her skills and their
talents led to a lifetime of achievements in the world of music. One
ex-pupil who nominated Miss Bruce said �She has helped not only myself but
untold numbers of pupils gain musical rewards. She brought a new awareness
to music and gave a lot of her own time and music scores to help me gain
grade 8 - without her I would never have achieved the potential I had�.
Miss Bruce was an inspirational music teacher for the young people of
Caithness and a very popular choice for this award.
Mrs MINA MACKAY (Award presented by
Willie Watt, Subsea 7)
 Mina was born in Barrock, Dunnet and moved to Peterhead when young and
then returned to Thurso when she was a teenager. She�s lived locally ever
since and has been teaching highland dancing to children between the ages
of 3 and 18 for 50 years. I won't give away how old she is but she is well
past retirement age. She runs her own highland dancing classes and never
advertises for custom as she has a continuous waiting list - a sign of how
highly thought of she is by parents of budding dancers in our community.
Over the years she has taught hundreds of children and a lot of them have
gone on to become dancing teachers themselves. Mina regularly helps
organisers of local ceilidhs by providing dancers or provides dancers for
events such as the Salvation Army annual fete or the annual Thurso Gala.
Whatever the event, the children turn-out immaculately dressed and provide
a superb display which is always well received by the local public. The
Thurso dancing festival, of which she involved in for many years has been
running annually since 1969. The Mina Mackay festival, founded by Mina in
1976, celebrated 30 years running in March of this year. Mina is regularly
invited to judge or help out at Highland Dancing Festivals outside of
Caithness which involves devoting many hours to these events and many
miles of travel. She is a great ambassador for Caithness and for Highland
Dancing.
YOUNG ACHIEVER IN SPORT (aged 18
and under) � ANDREW RAEBURN
ANDREW RAEBURN (Award presented by
Alan Gerrard, NUKEM)
 Andrew only took up athletics this year aged 14. He was the highest
scoring athlete in the Haliburton League which was won by Caithness AAC
this year for the first time ever. He received a special prize for his
efforts. He is the top ranked athlete in Scotland for 200m sprint, 400m
sprint, Long Jump and triple jump. He finished with the fastest 100M time
of the year and is one of the top 3 sprinters of his age in Scotland. He
swept the board at the Halkirk Games 2006 winning 4 events, breaking the
long jump and high jump records. Across the board he is top under 15
athlete in Scotland - great for Caithness. He is seen as a top proposal
for the future of Scottish Athletics in his age group and has just been
voted CAAC Sports Personality of the Year. He is a great example of what
young people can achieve.
ACHIEVEMENT IN SPORT � EVAN
OLIPHANT
EVAN OLIPHANT (Award presented by
Chris Blake, AMEC)
Evan started out cycling in Caithness at the local games and with Wick
Wheelers. He won various events which encouraged him to keep cycling when
he left school and went to Edinburgh University. He managed to fit his
cycling along with getting an honours degree. He was picked for the
Scottish Team and qualified to go out to Australia to compete in the
Commonwealth Games. His performance at the Games was outstanding and he
just missed a medal. Holds four British Gold Medals also one Silver. His
next goal is to compete in the Tour de France. Andrew is loyal to his home
community and visits the local schools when he can to promote cycling to
the youngsters. Evan has worked hard to get where he is today and he is an
inspiration to young people � they look up to him. Evan can�t be here this
evening because he is currently abroad training with his squad and we will
try to ensure that it can be presented to him the next time he is at home.
In the meantime, his mother has kindly agreed to receive the award on his
behalf. Mrs Clarissa Oliphant
SUPPORTING OTHERS TO ACHIEVE IN SPORT
� ALAN TURNER
ALAN TURNER (Award presented by Ian
Richards, Ackergill Tower)
 Alan has been involved in youth football for the past 25 years. He is
Chairman of Eastend Boys Club and was a driving force in setting up
Caithness United, of which he is also Chairman. Both clubs have been a
stepping stone for young footballers into senior/professional football. As
well as his role as a committee member for both clubs he also coaches and
takes the teams to various tournaments throughout Caithness & the rest of
the Highlands on a regular basis. Alan spends the majority of his free
time ensuring that both clubs run smoothly and over the years thousands of
Caithness children have benefited from his dedication to the sport. We
feel that Alan should be rewarded for all his years of commitment to the
youth of the county.
LIFELONG SERVICE TO SPORT IN CAITHNESS
- CHARLIE SIMPSON
CHARLIE SIMPSON (Award presented by
Anna MacConnell, Caithness Partnership)
 Charlie Simpson was nominated primarily for his services to Highland Games
in the north. Charlie got into competitive sport when he was a youngster
in the RAF and his interest was primarily in boxing. When he left the RAF
the heavy events at the Highland Games was the nearest thing to that and
once he began competing he toured Scotland and was always among the top
competitors in the country, and eventually counties across the world,
including America, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Norway and Thailand �
where he presented the Queen of Thailand with a Caithness Glass bowl for
her 50th birthday. He competed until he was in his fifties and then again
toured the country and further afield judging heavy events. He has been
involved in Highland Games for over 50 years and always found time to help
out with his local Mey Games, helping to organise the sports events, until
his retrial from the police force when he was able to take on a role as
one of the main organizers.
As well as all his sports achievements, Charlie has been called upon every
Christmas for the last 30 years to be a very popular Santa at the local
schools, village parties and old folks home� sometimes attending up to 30
events each year and up to five appearances per day. Although he has tried
to cut back a bit on all the Christmas parties, Charlie still goes to the
old folks homes on Christmas morning to give out presents.
VOLUNTARY LEADERSHIP � 2 AWARDS �
DAVID CROWE AND HARRY GRAY
DAVID CROWE (Award presented by
Jock Campbell, JGC Engineering)
 David Crowe was nominated for the award in recognition of his unstinting
support to 1st Thurso Scouts since he himself was a scout (now retired!).
David has carried out a huge range of roles within the scout group over
the years from Group Scout Leader to maintenance man. He works away in the
background always ensuring that everything is ticking over. When the group
was raising funds to refurbish the hall David organised fundraising events
relentlessly until the target was reached. It is thanks to David that the
scouts, beavers and cubs have the high standard of facilities they have
today. Without David's support the group would have folded many times over
the years. Although he would never ask for it, David deserves recognition
for the thousands of volunteer hours he has given to the community. His
dedication and commitment to the organisation is second to none. An Ode
was written as a tribute to David Crowe when he retired from the post of
Group Scout Leader of the 1st Thurso Scout Group after 50 years in
scouting. However the story does not end there. 8 years on David is still
doing his best for 1st Thurso and Scouting. this ode was penned for David
on his retiral in 1998
HARRY GRAY (Award presented by Jock
Campbell, JGC Engineering)
 Harry Gray was nominated because of his commitment to the local community
demonstrated by his lifetime involvement with Wick BB's and Wick Old
Parish Church. He is actively participating as a volunteer in projects
concerned with the Wick Society and local heritage. He has an enthusiastic
approach to all that he does and an ability to pass his enthusiasm on to
others. One of his nominators said on the nomination form �He is a born
leader, has an easy style of communication and is well respected in the
town. In my opinion, he richly deserves to be nominated for a Community
Award.�
BEST COMMUNITY PROJECT � 2 AWARDS
DUNNET AND CANISBAY DAYCARE CENTRE AND ARGYLE SQUARE AREA ASSOCIATION
DUNNET & CANISBAY DAYCARE CENTRE
(Award presented by Luke Williams, CH2MHILL)
 The Dunnet & Canisbay Daycare Centre committee has been working tirelessly
for a number of years now to try and get a local daycare centre for the
elderly people in their area. Currently the nearest daycare provision is
as far away as Wick and many of the older people in the community can be
isolated and alone. In order to address this the committee plan to put up
a brand new, specially designed building in their area and they have done
an enormous amount of voluntary work from preparing plans, dealing with
architects and financial planners, right through to managing a determined
campaign of fundraising events. To date they have raised some �60,000
entirely from within the local community. A leading light among these
worthy campaigners is the Secretary of the group, Mrs Joan Miller, who has
been tireless in her efforts to drive this important community project
forward and an excellent example of community leadership. I would be very
pleased if Mrs Miller could step forward to receive the award on behalf of
the Dunnet & Canisbay Daycare Centre Committee.
ARGYLE SQUARE AREA ASSOCIATION
(Award presented by Luke Williams, CH2MHILL)
 The Argyle Square Area Association has been a small community-led group
from its inception and it aims to improve the environment of the member�s
local area for the benefit of all. Rising crime and vandalism in the area
was a concern to residents and the group�s fundraising efforts, which
included organizing fun days and other events, have been successful enough
to enable them to pay for installation of new lighting and a CCTV camera
which will be linked to the wider Wick CCTV camera scheme, to help address
this problem. They also plan to put in new seating to enhance the square
aesthetically. It was felt that this group epitomises community
participation at its best where people have not been afraid to roll up
their sleeves and tackle local problems themselves.
GOOD NEIGHBOUR AWARD � ADA CAMPBELL (Award presented by Sheona
Campbell, North of Scotland Newspapers)
 For many years Ada has tirelessly helped out her neighbours. She has also
concerned herself with the many charitable groups she has interest in,
helping them raise funds. She is well known for her hard work in helping
with 'The Teas' for other groups, but always stays modestly in the
background. Among the many other charitable works Ada has in the past she
helped deliver Meals on Wheels to needful people in the area and is she is
still active with the Hospital Shop (WRVS) and her local church and ladies
guild. Ada is the kind of person we would all be happy to have as a
neighbour.
Young people�s certificates for
citizenship
All these youngsters have been nominated for their good citizenship -
having between them clocked up many, many hours of voluntary work in the
community. They are the sort of people who give youngsters a good name.
THE FOUR CERTIFICATES WILL BE PRESENTED
BY TOM JACKSON, THE HIGHLAND COUNCIL
LAURA MACKAY
 Laura gained her gold Youth volunteering award through all her hard work
and commitment to the Active Schools Programme in Caithness.
CALVIN WILSON
 Calvin has been an active volunteer from a young age and volunteered with
the Holiday Club, school events, Wick Players and many music events. He
has also gained a gold Youth Volunteering award for all the hours he has
put in.
JAMIE MUNRO
Without Jamie�s help hundreds of Caithness children would have missed out
on numerous activities ranging from shinty to dance. He too has clocked up
many, many hours of volunteering and has committed himself to do more next
year.
NAOMI BEGG
 Naomi has been a member of the Community Partners Programme at Ormlie
since she was 11 years old and has played a major part in the improvements
to the Ormlie Estate where she lives.
OUTSTANDING COURAGE � 2 AWARDS -
JAMES RISBRIDGER & C COMPANY � 7 SCOTS, CAITHNESS TERRITORIAL ARMY.
JAMES RISBRIDGER (Award presented
by Margaret, Viscountess Thurso)
 James was chosen for this award because his prompt action almost certainly
saved a man from drowning. One evening last September in Wick when James
was taking the dog for a walk near the harbour a man was seen to fall into
the water. Another passer-by called for assistance on his mobile phone
while James sprinted to the other side of the harbour to get a lifebuoy,
then went into the water down a quayside ladder to try and give the
lifebuoy to the man. By this time the man was drifting in and out of
consciousness in the cold water and unable to grasp the lifebuoy. Mr
Risbridger then made a second rescue attempt, getting into the water with
a seanet rope and tying it round the man. He managed to keep the victim�s
head above water long enough for the coast guards to arrive who then
helped get him onto the quayside. The drama did have a happy ending. After
coughing up some water, and a bit of TLC from the Coastguards and
Caithness General Hospital the rescued man was soon none the worse for his
experience and returned home to Falkirk a few days later. One of the local
policemen called to the scene commended James in particular on his prompt
actions which ensured that the victim was brought out of the water alive
within a very short time of going in.
TERRITORIAL ARMY (Award will be
presented by Miss Anne Dunnet, Lord-Lieutenant of Caithness, to the
platoon when they all return from Iraq)
 C COMPANY � 7 SCOTS - CAITHNESS
TERRITORIAL ARMY
A Special Award is to be made to the twelve men of the Caithness
Territorials serving in Iraq. This number is a large proportion of the
local Platoon. Whilst all our full time military personnel serving in
dangerous places all over the world are greatly appreciated, these local
men who are volunteers have made great sacrifices to serve in Iraq. All
are well known to most of us and their absence, particularly over
Christmas, has been a great strain for their families at home.
This award is for these twelve men �
Captain Kevin C. Mackay
Colour Sergeant Robert Forbes
Corporal Alan Oag
Lance Corporal Roddy Mackay
Lance Corporal Gavin Manson
Lance Corporal David Mowat
Private Robin Green
Private John Harrold
Private David R.W. Longmuir
Private Alan M. MacDonald
Private Angus B. Mackay
Private Garry Sinclair
WE SALUTE THEM ALL.
WINNER CAITHNESS CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
2006 � HARRY GRAY
 Citizen of the Year Award presented by Miss Anne
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