On behalf of the Board and Management Group I wish all members of the Royal New Zealand Pipe Bands’ Association and our wider pipe band friends and family a merry and festive Christmas and New Year holiday.
It’s been a huge, and at times challenging, year for the Association, which I discussed in our recent NZ Pipe Band e-magazine. Everyone is ready for a break.
Our bands are reflections of their communities and I have no doubt the current economic conditions will be impacting many in our membership.
Pipe bands are teams of people with a shared love of music, aspiration to improve and desire to contribute to our communities. We belong to our bands for the many benefits they provide, not least the wonderful friendships we make along the way.
I have no doubt pipe band enthusiasts and their families will be spending time together over the holiday period, enjoying each other’s company, supporting those who may be struggling, celebrating, commiserating, and dreaming of the triumphs that lie ahead.
As the curtain closes on 2024 and I look towards 2025, the role pipe bands play in my life is a particular personal focus for me. I’ve served on the Board of the Association for the past 20 years, 15 of them as national president. My time in those roles ends on 31 December.
I have to say, nearly all of that time has been an absolute joy.
I’ve had the privilege of spending time with amazing people, doing what I can to help them achieve their pipe band aspirations and I am very proud of where the NZ pipe band scene is at right now and the bright future that it has.
Pipe bands have given me much more than I could ever have imagined when I first started learning as a 10 year old in 1972. And, the best thing is, I have absolutely no doubt there is much more to come.
It’s been a blast so far, and while I’m signing off 2024 for the last time as national president, I look forward to many more years of participating in this amazing community, contributing where I can, and enjoying the unique Aotearoa pipe band craic.
Thank you to all who have helped me on my pipe band journey so far and my very best wishes to Liam and the new leadership group as they build the new future.
I wish all of you in this great community a joyful, restful, bountiful, peaceful and safe festive season.
Iain Blakeley
President
