Sir Thomas Harris KBE CMG Attends Benefit Tartan Ball on October 18^th at the Desmond Hotel.

Schenectady, NY, October 18,2003

The St. Andrew's Society of Schenectady, a non-denominational benevolent organization is welcoming Sir Thomas Harris KBE CMG, HM Consul-General, New York Director-General, Trade & Investment, USA to its bicentennial celebration Tartan Ball on October 18^th 2003 at the Desmond Hotel.

The culmination of the Society’s bicentennial is the 27th annual Tartan Ball. The Tartan Ball is a classically formal Scottish event, complete with skirling pipes, high stepping highland dancers and of course the famous “Presentation to the Haggis”. Proceeds from the ball support the Society’s Scholarship Fund, which supports youth from the Capital District to further their education in the Celtic Arts. In the past, scholarship winners have been able to pursue summer clinics in Highland Dance, Bagpiping and drumming, as well as several young people attending higher education at universities in Scotland

 “While the Society still works hard to support charities through monetary gifts, our larger focus is to support young people interested in Scottish studies with our scholarship fund,” says Paul V. Harris, president of the Society. “ Our goal is to ensure that the heritage of Scotland is carried on by the youth of our community, and to do that we hold fund raising events such as the Tartan Ball. It is the objective of all Scots both here and in Scotland to continue the threads of culture and history and create a future for modern Scotland and all those who claim kinship.

The Society supports many non-Celtic local and international charities, including the Schenectady Inner City Mission (SICM), Hospice of Schenectady County, Schenectady County Museum, and Rachael House of Scotland (a children’s’ critical care facility in Kinross Scotland).

Paul V Harris, President of St. Andrew’s Society of Schenectady New York (right) with Sir Thomas Harris KBE CMG