The November Regional Meeting was held in The Royal George Hotel in Perth. This was President Jean Campbell’s first meeting since taking office as President of Scotland North. There was a short change of insignia at the start of the meeting.   The Regional Council Meeting proceeded smoothly followed by a productive breakout session when delegates discussed ‘Why they were a Soroptimist?’. Members found this a very helpful time of discussion. After a satisfying lunch the delgates settled down to listen to two excellent speakers: Roddy Ross, a former police officer, gave a talk on ‘Violence Against Women’. He highlighted the changes in attitudes towards domestic violence taken by the police during his career; violence against women is now fully investigated and prosecuted. Rev Barbara Ann Sweetin, gave a humorous, yet serious talk, about the social outreach going on in her parish church in Forfar. Entertainment from Iona Brown, singing and playing guitar, ended a very enjoyable day.     The Free

  The annual Federation Conference was held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow Nov 5th to 7th. This was a very stimulating and rewarding Conference. The standard of the speakers was excellent and thanks to the hard work of the organising committee the event ran very smoothly. The Princess Royal was guest of honour. This conference marked the end of the two year Modern Day Slavery Resolution.  APD Janet Hodgson presented a review of the of work carried out by Soroptimists during this time which ranged from educating our communities to lobbying our parliamentarians. The conclusion was that this had been a successful resolution but there was still much to do in the fight against modern slavery both in the UK and abroad. ———————————————————————————————– Exhibition Centre Among the exhibitors were two charities with links to Scotland North. The Tartan Ribbon Fund.   The Free to Live Trust     Trustees and friends enjoyed

Regional President Pam Cairns, and Hilary Hood SI Dundee, joined Scotland South President Bernadette Campbell and Region PAO Margaret Mowat at ‘Breast Cancer Now’s’ Holyrood reception.   This was a very informative and emotional event. In particular one young mother with metastatic breast cancer spoke bravely of her battle with the disease.

Over forty delegates attended the September Regional Meeting held at Aberdeen Cricket Club. The first half of the morning was taken up by the AGM and Regional Council meeting.   The second half was a very productive session: delegates divided into two smaller groups: 1. Programme Action  2. Membership issues. The Programme Action group was facilitated by PA Chair Billie. PAO’s from the SN clubs outlined their work plans for the year and shared  their PA experiences . The Membership Session was facilitated by Region Membership Officer, Jean. Similarly clubs shared their plans and experiences – good and bad. The speakers organised by SI Aberdeen were excellent. Sherriff Alison Stirling presented a pilot scheme that was about to get underway in the Aberdeen area . These would be special courts that would deal with low grade prolific offenders; the courts would offer community sentencing and rehabilitation rather than custodial sentencing. It was hoped that this would have a more positive

  On Saturday June 13th, Scotland North clubs joined SI Easter Ross members for their 40th Anniversary. The celebratory lunch was held, after the Regional Council Meeting, in the National Hotel in Dingwall. The guest speaker was the Lord-Lieutenant of Ross and Cromarty, Mrs Janet Bowen, who gave a very informative talk about her role as the Queen’s representative.   A very enjoyable and memorable day.

Scotland North President – Elect, Jean Campbell, joined her previous club, SI Falkirk, as they celebrated their 70th anniversary. On Saturday May 30th, there was a most enjoyable evening at the Falkirk Wheel – a spectacular venue for a 70th anniversary.  Following a civic reception, there was good food, fun & friendship. The speaker for the evening was Paul McNeil, Director of Operations for the Gloag Foundation; he gave a very inspiring talk about the work of the  Freedom from Fistula Foundation.     Jean Campbell.

On Saturday May 16th 2015, SI Inverness and Nairn celebrated 80 years of Soroptimism. A Civic Dinner was hosted by the Inverness Area Committee of the Highland Council in the Town House.  Guests included Vice Provost Jean, local councillors, local SI members, Regional President Pam Cairns, IPP SS Ruth Liggatt, and representatives from other Scottish clubs. This was a memorable evening with good food and good company. Congratulations to SI Inverness and Nairn.