PPBSO president Bob Allen feted at recognition dinner

About 150 friends, family and supporters of Bob Allen, the outgoing president of the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario, came out to a gala dinner to honour his eight years of leadership and lifetime of dedication to Ontario piping and drumming on September 30 in Oakville, Ontario.

Guests were treated to a night of speeches and piping, with professional soloist James MacHattie and rising star Ashleigh Weeden providing choice tunes between recognition speeches from luminaries in the Ontario piping and drumming scene.

Allen has dedicated more than 50 years to piping and drumming, serving with the Grade 1 St. Thomas / McNish Distillery Pipe Band for much of that time. He has voluntarily worked at all levels of the PPBSO’s executive structure and, since, 1997, as president of the organization.

In several of the 10 brief speeches given on the night, he was credited for his quiet but forthright leadership abilities, and the fact that he has led the PPBSO to be significantly cash-positive, while also spearheading world-leading initiatives.

Allen himself gave the final speech of the night, characteristically crediting everyone else for any success that has come during his leadership tenure. He was presented at the end of the night with a gift of Edinburgh Crystal from PPBSO stalwart Bob Worrall, who organized the evening honouring Allen.

Letters of recognition were read from pipe band associations around the world, including the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, the British Columbia Pipers Association, and the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association.

The PPBSO’s annual general meeting is scheduled for November 26 in Milton, Ontario, where the organization’s next president will be elected.

p|d

What do you think? We always want to hear from our readers, so please use our comment system to provide your thoughts!

Do you have news? Be sure to send your information to pipes|drums. We can’t report what we don’t know about! Please remember to support the businesses that advertise and make the not-for-profit p|d possible.