The 23rd annual pipes|drums New Year’s Honours

2023 Association Leader of the Year

Jim Sim, Midwest Pipe Band Association

Panellists’ comments:

• Chicago success Kansas City winter storm success
• One word: Chicago!
• It isn’t an easy job being the committee chair. Jim does a great job and getting things done in a systematic way, while providing transparency.
• No association is trying and doing as many new things as the MWPBA under Jim’s watch. He’s been there and done the business, so he leads with great understanding of the members he represents.
• The MWPBA has shown excellent leadership on a few fronts, including the organization of band events, introduction of new approaches to contest formats and rules, and generally being open to expanding the reach of programs in that area.
• The Midwest has a history of having some pretty decent players and bands, but not much has been happening as of recent, except that Jim and the crew continue to push along and are turning the Chicago Highland games into a must-attend event.
• Looking at the contests in North America, the Midwest Association seems to be the association that has added the biggest, most well-attended contests in the last decade.

Also nominated (in alphabetical order)

Ainsley Hart, Pipe Bands Australia president – He inherited a collective association of associations that was in some turmoil and has successfully settled it into a collaborative organization run by pipers and drummers who’ve experienced the ups and downs of competition.

Colin MacLellan, Solo Piping Judges Association chair – For the last six years, Colin MacLellan has worked to bring judging consistency and credibility to the UK’s solo competitions, leaving the post this year with the scene in much better shape for competitors. Solo pipers can now have much better faith that both small and large events will be well assessed without much of the perception of bias that has historically plagued Scottish contests.

Derek Midgley, Competing Pipers Association president – The CPA’s first non-UK-resident leader, Midgley continues to bring new ideas to the fore, including the new Bronze Medal piobaireachd competition.

Jim McGillivray, Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario Music Committee chair – The once world-leading Ontario piping and drumming scene benefits greatly from Jim McGillivray’s guiding hand in the most important role in the association. With a change in the PPBSO’s presidency, there’s perhaps no better person to manage the transition with typical diplomacy, level-headedness, and, perhaps most importantly, credibility.