Millennium Implementation Report ‘Fails Miserably’

Glasgow – March 9, 2002 – The Annual General Meeting of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) took place today, with the main item on the agenda being the vote to approve or reject the Millennium Review Implementation Group‘s recommendation to overhaul the association.

Adoption of the report was proposed, and then a suspension of standing orders to allow full discussion was then put forward. This motion was defeated by the membership, and without any discussion or debate it moved to a vote, the rules requiring that a motion must receive a two thirds majority to pass.

The 111 member bands present thus required a vote of 74 to move the RSPBA forward into the format suggested by the Millennium Report. The vote was 59 for the motion and 22 against, with 30 bands abstaining, thus ensuring that the existing system would continue for the next year.

“To say that I and my colleagues on the Millennium Review Group and the Millennium Review Implementation Group are beside ourselves with rage with the apathy within the RSPBA is to put the majority of our feelings mildly,” said one member of the MRIG.

In his opening remarks, RSPBA chairman George Ussher praised the work of the RSPBA’s National Council over the past years, and said that the association is in a healthy financial state. He added that anyone taking control of the RSPBA now would take over at an excellent time.

The RSPBA, since its near bankruptcy in 1999, has returned to profitability, securing increased sponsorship for prizes at major 2002 championships.

It was reported that no National Council members made any comment before, during or after the crucial vote to reestablish the premise of the RSPBA.

At an extraordinary general meeting of the RSPBA in October 2001, the RSPBA approved the implementation of the Millennium Group’s recommendations in principle.

“This was a watershed moment in the RSPBA’s history,” said one observer. “This will either be the continuation of the successful status quo or, potentially, the downfall of the organization altogether. There is little room for any middle ground.”

For background information on the RSPBA Millennium Group and its activities, please see the following Piper & Drummer Online stories:

Millennium Group Proposal Accepted in Principle at RSPBA AGM

RSPBA Millennium Group Meeting a Good Start

RSPBA Distributes News from Millennium Review Implementation Group

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