THE DOIG FAMILY SOCIETY
COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

MINUTES OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE MEETING
HELD 18th July 2007 @ 11am @ 1b Ladysmith Court Dunfermline KY12 7YD

Those Present:-

Chairman - Kerr Doig, Secretary - John Doig, Treasurer - Ian Doig, Members - Henry and Mary Doig, Wendy Doig
  1. Chairman's Report Kerr welcomed all present and thanked those who had travelled. Kerr then reviewed the last Gathering and it was agreed that although the attendance was disappointing, based on those who originally had said they would attend, but failed to do so, it was a success. It had been a happy event, lessons had been learnt, especially regarding cost and catering.
  2. Secretary's Report Notes of the committee meeting held at the 2006 gathering were read and confirmed with one alteration. Over 350 Doigs had been “kennelled” by Skype. However reluctance continues by half of the recipients to accept contact. It was suggested this may be due to the young age of the people or my photo(?), it has led to only 140 so far being available for contact. John’s Skype address IS doigjohna, Ken Doig’s in California is kfdoig, Kerr Doig is kerrdoig. The June 2006 committee meeting and Third Doig Digest had been placed on the web, the minutes of this meeting and that of the Gathering would be added hopefully by the end of September along with the Constitutions. www.doigsden.co.uk The DVD of the last Gathering is available at £5 + p&p . The DVD of Peruvian Doig history / Artefacts by Frederick Kaufmann Doig is on the web see www.doig.net
  3. Treasurer's Report Ian reported that at present the Society had £2200 in the bank account. The Society Accounts to 31st December 2006 had been prepared and were agreed by the Committee. The treasurer had been successful in obtaining details to enable people outside the UK to pay their subscriptions direct into the Doig Society Bank Account. The mechanism is via a bank international code (BIC); this code, which should be quoted when making a transfer, is IBAN GB42RBOS83270900675853 plus IBAN BIC Code RBOSGB2L
  4. Scottish Gathering 2009 After some debate it was agreed that there should be another Scottish Gathering prior to the Canadian one in 2010. It was suggested and agreed to be held in Edinburgh in July 2009. Following the meeting after some exploration of events happening during 2009 it was agreed that we should attach our Doig Society Gathering to the Homecoming International Gathering 2009. The Homecoming Gathering will have an estimated 80 clan tents and around 7,500 clan and Scottish association members from around the world. The Homecoming Gathering will take place in Holyrood Park and there will be an associated highland games that is expected to attract a further 30,000 people over the two days. The Homecoming Gathering is being held in Edinburgh on the last weekend of July in 2009. This would mean The Doig Society would only have to organise a Friday gathering in a hall. Ian Doig volunteered to investigate suitable venues. Click this link to see details about the large Homecoming Gathering which it is hoped will get Scots from abroad to “come home”.
  5. CANADA 2010 It was agreed the possibility of organising a Doig Gathering in Canada be delegated to the Canadians; 2010 had been suggested as a possibility, subject to sufficient support and funding. The role of the parent Doig Family Society would be only to provide a focal point in an advisory capacity. The 2010 Canadian Gathering should be run entirely by the Canadians and they should make a profit if possible for the Doig Family Society, which would go to fund the parent Society’s aims. Suggested dates were end August – end September 2010 and in an area on the east side and near Toronto. (Remembering that 15mls in the UK is more like 300miles in Canada). Remembering Scottish Schools are back mid August or earlier, English Schools go back early Sept. The Committee considered that it would be unrealistic to predict with confidence that many Doigs from the UK would be able to attend the Canadian Gathering (a combination of costs and availability for the dates).Contact with Ian Doig (Ca), reidoig@storm.ca Tel. 613-264-2707, would be made to progress the committees feelings. (Ian having volunteers to assist and oversee the 2010 Gathering in Canada.
  6. Doig DNA Project This was progressing well with now 20 DNA samples having been taken. It can looks that there was not just one Doig line, however we still need more samples to tie in more lines. See www.doig.net and follow DNA link for latest results.
  7. Progress towards official Clan recognition has not progressed as well as hoped for; Kerr is still awaiting final documentation and will be the third Doig to achieve an Armiger status. See Doig’s Digest 2007 for details how to become an armiger. Investigation in to the Doig Family Society calling itself a Doig Clan without achieving full Court of Lyon recognition is to be looked into.
  8. Doig Family Society Constitution and Rules have been agreed and will be publicised on the web. You can view them here.

MINUTES OF THE FOURTH COMMITTEE MEETING
HELD 10/06/06 @ 11am Lion and Unicorn, Thornhill

Those Present:-

Chairman - Kerr Doig, Secretary - John Doig, Treasurer - Ian Doig, Members - Henry and Mary Doig, Andrew Doig Kirriemuir Doig Kilt Shop, Jon Doig Stirling, and Wendy Doig Liverpool
  1. Chairman's Report Kerr welcomed all present and thanked those who had travelled. The focus of this meeting would be entirely the August International Gathering.
  2. Secretary's Report Nothing much to report which would not be mentioned later in the meeting Over 150 Doigs had been “kennelled” by Skype. However reluctance by the recipients to accept contact continues and this has led to only 63 so far being available for contact. John's Skype address doigjohna, Ken Doig's in California is kfdoig The last committee meeting and second Doig Digest had been placed on the web http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/doigsden/
  3. Treasurer's Report Ian reported that at present the Society had £700 in bank account. This will reduce as costs are now being incurred in organising the 2006 Gathering. . The Society Accounts to 31 st December 2005 had been prepared and agreed by the Committee. The Accounts & vouchers were handed to Jon Doig of Stirling for auditing, prior to formal acceptance at the AGM at the 2006 Gathering. Considerable debate ensued regarding estimated costs & income for the 2006 Gathering in Thornhill. It was agreed that there would be a charge of £12.50 per person for Friday (including the evening Soiree). £10.00 for the Saturday daytime session. These delegates' fees would be necessary to finance costs for running the two days, including catering, hall hire speakers fees, entertainment & overheads. There would be a reduced fee for children under 16 and no charge for those under 5 years of age. The Saturday evening Ceilidh would be an entirely separate charge of £10 per head and tickets would be on sale Friday and Saturday at the Registration desk. It was agreed that the Sunday Highland Games at Bridge of Allan and the organised walk to the Kilmadock Graves would be made available to the attendees but at their own expense/ arrangement as logistically it would not be possible to organise transport for all who wished to participate. Assessing the situation it was noted that on the assumption of 80 delegates on Friday and 100 delegates on the Saturday the Society should make a modest surplus, which would be added to the Doig Family Society Fund, in pursuance of our objective of achieving full Clan Status. However any increase in delegate numbers would make the coffers of the Society grow. It was hoped that all Doig's and friends would rally round to maximise attendance- hopefully a world record Gathering of Doigs! Subject to the capacity being available, a fee of £8 was agreed for local residents who may wish to attend the Friday Soiree. A meeting with the Licensee who will supply the bar on the Friday and Saturday evenings took place; he confirmed that he would apply for the licence and that the cost of this will be met by the Lion and Unicorn. It was agreed that two further signatories would be added to the Society Account J.A. Doig & Dr H. Doig.
  4. A meeting with Ray Nairn (the caterer) was successful in agreeing the snacks to be available at lunch and evening supper time. Cost per head to be £4 for Friday lunch and supper and Saturday lunch and supper. She will provide paper plates, coffee, tea, milk etc. Urns of hot water would be available during each session for coffee and tea to be made. Wendy Doig will make sure disposable cups are always available and that clearing and tidying takes place.
  5. Tasks were issued to committee members to pursue :-

    Jon Doig
    a) To obtain identification labels which would act as an entry ticket for Friday & Saturday
    b) To provide a Saltire & plastic folder for the welcome packs.

    John Doig
    a) To provide a cash float for registration
    b) To parcel up welcome packs on Thursday evening prior to event, Kerr & Jon to liaise re delivery of same to Thornhill.
    c) To provide names for the badges provided by Jon
    d) To provide membership/registration forms to be completed upon entry
    e) Price Doig related books, notice for bookstall.

    Wendy Doig to organise registration on both days and donation boxes.

    Kerr Doig
    a) To continue to look at advertising and funding and maximise delegate numbers.
    b) Contact James Fraser of VisitScotland.com
    c) To obtain leaflets from Tourism Office

    Ian Doig to contact Stirling Observer and three other items he is working on already.

    Andrew Doig to use his contacts to advertise the event. (Forfar & Dundee) and to liaise with Richard Doig over suitable donation to society.

    Dr. Henry Doig
    a) To write to various news media with a brief account of the Gathering.
    b) Contact Rodney Doig.
    c) Test out old PA System for possible use at the Gathering.

  6. Attendees should be notified with request to help out with donating Raffle prizes for Friday & Saturday nights. Also a bookstall would be in the hall with a box for donations.

  7. A Programme of Events for the Gathering was agreed. Click here to view Programme of Events
MINUTES OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE MEETING
HELD 14/11/05 @ 10am Smith Art Gallery & Museum Stirling

Those Present:-

Chairman - Kerr Doig , Secretary - John Doig , Treasurer - Ian Doig, Members - Henry Doig, and Mary Doig, Andy Doig from Dundee, Andrew Doig Kirriemuir Doig Kilt Shop, Elizabeth Pole, Annette McDonald, Elspeth King of thr Smith Art Gallery & Museum (part time), Nigel Bishop Admin and Information Officer Kilmadock Development Trust (part time).
  1. Chairman's Report Kerr welcomed all present and looked forward to a productive committee meeting.
  2. Nigel Bishop described the differences between the Kilmadock Trust and the Kilmadoc Society which were run by the same people. He informed that the Stirling Council had awarded funding (£15,000) for repairs and upkeep of the Kilmadock graveyard. There will be a new access map to the graveyard in the near future. A copy of the Doig Family Society A4 poster to be put up in the Kilmadock Development Trust shop 52 Main Street Doune FK 16 6BW. Nigel stated that he would liaise with the Secretary in the future. The Chairman thanked Nigel for his valued input. It was agreed that the Society would pay a donation or subscription to the Kilmadock Trust – Treasurer to be advised of the amount.
  3. Secretary's Report With increasing use of the internet 64 Doigs had been “kennelled” by Skype. However the recipient of the call had to authorise contact acceptance and this had lead to only 25 so far being available to speak to. More DVD's of the last Gathering had been sold profiting the Society account . The Contacts Access database continued to be buit up and with Ken Doig now releasing emails with the various Doig lines he has updated a lot more would be forthcoming. News of International visitors visitors to the 2006 Gathering was promising with around 30 already definitely attending. The last committee meeting and Doig Digest had been placed on the web http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/doigsden/
  4. Treasurer's Report Ian reported that at present the Society had £884.46 in its bank account . The sum of £10 per annum was agreed as the annual subscription for 2006 and this should be paid by all members, preferably by Bankers Standing Order (SO form is available on request from the Treasurer). It was agreed that the financial year (and therefore annual subscriptions) should run from 1 st January to 31 st December. Formalizing the subscription scheme for 2006 and beyond remained a priority.

    Considerable debate ensued regarding costs for the 2006 Gathering in Stirling . The first two days would be charged at a fee £20 per person per day (plus catering – say £24 in total per person per day), subject to more detailed costings. There would be a reduced fee for children (say £12 per day). The fee would be needed to cover the cost of hall hire, catering, Friday evening mix, mingle & entertaining, speakers fees & expenses, advertising, postage & contingencies. There would be 10 speakers over the 2 days. Costs of hiring the Smith Art Gallery were currently £12 (plus VAT) per hour. Elspeth King advised that the capacity was 90. Cost of lunches would be around £5/ person. In the evening, drinks would not be available from the Smith but wine etc could be brought into the building, provided care was taken regarding placement of drink.

     A Budget for the Society for 2006 would be drawn up, based on the following anticipated costs:

    5. •  2006 Gathering costs
    •  Bridge of Allan Games costs
    •  Newsletter, postage, printing and stationary costs
    •  Website, Advertising and Public Relations expenses
    •  Expenses incurred by office bearers
    •  Contingency fund for unforeseen costs
    •  Development fund – contribution to build funds for Clan Status
    •  Income – Subscriptions of £10 per member

  5. Clan Registration . As previously mentioned applying for an official coat of arms. We need ten to become a clan. At this point we have two, with one application in process by Kerr Doig . What is required is as follows :- This is for a Grandfather ancestor who lived in Scotland but applied for to Lord Lyon by an Englishman

    1a  Your Marriage Certificate
    1b    "      Father in Law's Marriage Certificate
    1c/e      All the Children's Birth Certificates (eldest son first, then any daughters)
    2a   Your Birth Certificate
    2b    "      Fathers Marriage Certificate
    3a    "      G/Fathers Birth Certificate
    3b    "            "        Marriage Certificate

    Cost is around £1000 but not paid up front. We need more to obtain Armiger Status.

  6. Next Family Gathering It was agreed that it would be impractical to try to ferry people to and from the Bridge of Allan Games and that people should make their own arrangements but a focal point to meet was likely to be the Richard Doig “Kilt and accessory Stall”. Andrew was asked to ensure that Richard was present with this stallas it was felt would benefit those Doigs who were only up for the day or so and could not reach a Doig Kilt Shop. It was also agreed at this time, with low funds, we would not purchase a trophy for a competition as all events were well covered and an advert in the games programme would be more suitable at this time. A rough plan of the Gathering could now be drawn up. Confirmation of the artists is required.
    Action Points
    John     :- to contact David Doig re Ceilidh band, David Doig (Fettercairn) re Clive Doig talk, Maxine Trotter & husband and Nigel Bishop re their contributions.
    Kerr : - Dr. Jim Cranstoun Scottish Geology, David Ross,
    Ian : - Lord Lyon Representative, Register General Office, depending on this outcome or as alternative Kevin Wilbraham new Archivist at Stirling. It was also expected that Kerr would talk on his progress and how he is obtaining his Armiger status. Web Master Ken Doig was also expected to give us another insight into his findings.

  7. A.O.B.

    8. 1. Strikebound DVD which is about the miners strike in Australia in the 1930's involving Doigs in the main parts, would be made available at the next Gathering

    2. Kerr suggested, (Kerr is the Ideas Man), that we should consider writing a Doig Book, that is a book about Doigs past and present. This was thought to be an excellent idea especially as Kerr Stated he would take this job on.

    3. Doig names around the world not only on street names were required The secretary pointed out that in Seattle there was a picture he was given of DOIG CHAPEL on the various computing programmes. All the bricks of the building bore names of the donors.

    4. The next Gathering would again be recorded; costs however were currently prohibitive at around £950 / day. The last DVD's were not planned but were only meant as a souvenir of the days. John and Henry agreed to try to do a more professional job next year if another ‘free volunteer' was not forthcoming.

    5. Volume L11 No. 2 of the Scottish Genealogy Society (June 2005), contained over a five page spread the “Doigs of Menteith” which had been compiled by Kenneth Frank Doig (Webmaster), Dr Suzanne Mary Doig (NZ) and George Kerr Doig our chairman. Membership is £16, £19 Family membership and U.S members $32 and is recognised as a charity see www.scotsgenealogy.com

    6. It was agreed to purchase the last available 35 of the very good book of “Thornhill and its Environs” (a Social History), to ensure that Doigs at the next gathering would have an opportunity to purchase same. . (Post meeting note- Kerr has succeeded in buying up the 25 remaining copies for the Society and proposes to auction them at the 2006 Gathering to raise funds for the Society).

    7. Dr. Henry Doig brought information from a web site re DNA testing from a source who carry out this task. Further investigation and DNA volunteers would be required at a cost of ~$160, (less for a group). All agreed that this would be useful to tie up Doig lines to a possibility of one original DOG. See www.familytreedna.com

    8. Concern was expressed that the Smiths venue may / would not be suitable due to the size of the expected Gathering. It was agreed to check out other venues in Stirling.

    9. It was suggested that Richard could consider some small percentage payback to the Society for the Doig business that it attracted and Andrew was requested to put this to Richard.

    10. Thanks were expressed to Elspeth for the availability of the Smith Venue and supply of the beverages etc

    11. An Editor for the Doigs Digest was still an outstanding issue which required resolving. Volunteers please contact Secretary.

    The meeting closed at 14.10hrs

    NO DATE SET FOR THE NEXT MEETING WHICH WOULD BE IN THE YEAR 2006

    KILMADOCK TRUST covers the big picture i.e. all aspects in the area and the KILMADOCK SOCIETY the History and Heritage of the area. Both are registered charities.

    The Kimadock Development Trust runs the Information and Heritage Centre at the Development Trust shop 52 Main Street Doune FK 16 6BW. It is involved in a wide range of activities, e.g. development of the Youth Project, interpretation boards on the path to the Doune Castle , runs walking festivals and provides a base and meeting place for a number of local groups. It also has two employees. Membership of the Trust is £1 life membership; one gets very little for it as it is a way to support the Trust. Membership forms can be obtained. Two newsletters have been produced since the Trust was formed.

    The Kilmadock Society is composed of volunteers; use the centre as a base and also stores equipment and items there. The Society has an annual fee, £5 adults, £2 Senior Citizens ( over 60yrs of age), and junior. There are talks and periodic news letters and again membership forms can be obtained. It is if note that the Society and the Development Trust are run in the majority by the same people.

    Addendum
    Due to prospective numbers attending the gathering in August another venue can be sort.

MINUTES OF THE SECOND COMMITTEE MEETING
HELD 6/8/05 @ 4pm Creity Hall Hotel

Those Present:-

Chairman - Kerr Doig , Secretary - John Doig , Treasurer - Ian Doig, Member - Henry Doig, Wendy Doig, David Doig, Barbara Doig and Mary Doig
  1. Chairman's Report Kerr reported progress was being made towards the next Gathering and thanked those attending the meeting. He requested that all Doigs be urged to register on the Doig List via the Doig Website www.doig.net and also notify the Secretary for further information.
  2. Secretary's Report With increasing use of the internet several more Doigs had been “kennelled”. The downloading of the new SKYPE system had enabled free phone call connections all around the world, with subsequent recruitment. Those Founders who had escaped without enrolment had all been sent letters. The Richard Doig kilt shops on http://www.thekiltshop.co.uk/ had not been updated regarding the new Society & Doig Tartan, but this would be carried out soon. Several dozen DVD's of the previous Gathering had been sold profiting the Society account. A Contacts Access database programme had been developed for recording the membership and had been issued to several members of the committee. E-mails had been sent to all on the data base, several addressees had not responded, some had not arrived at the destination but the % was small.
  3. Treasurer's Report Ian presented a financial report; he considered that a forward budget was soon to become a priority as we now needed to look at costs for the next Gathering. The Committee agreed. He reported that at present the Society had £682 in its bank account . The sum of £10 per annum was agreed as an annual subscription and this should be collected from all members. The news letter would highlight this. Ian also reported that no costs had been incurred which the Society need be aware of. Ian would also follow up information regarding a Swift bank code to enable money to be transferred between countries without cost.
  4. Clan Registration . In brief the society required 10 Armigers i.e. family / individuals who would be willing to gather a sum of money to register a coat of arms. The cost can be around £880 -£1000. This would entitle the person or nominee to a new grant of Armorial Bearings including shield only, which was cheaper than one with a crest. (£1334), an extra cost of around a hundred pounds is also likely to be incurred. See ww.Doig.net for further information. To date, two Canadian Doigs, Ian Michael and Kenneth James have achieved this status, via their ancestors, on 15 th February 1982 & 10 th June 1965 respectively and another descendant (Kerr our Chairman) is to prove himself related to another Doig traced from 1468 who already had a coat of arms etc. The secretary was also to attempt to obtain armiger status for his grandfather with the assistance of his cousin Eric Doig. Dr Henry Doig would also endeavour to obtain it and several other members were to be coaxed to assist. It was acknowledge that this task of achieving clan status would take some time, possibly several years. Other volunteers willing to obtain a coat of arms were to be sourced and notification of any interest to the secretary would be welcome. Barbara, our Treasurers wife, undertook to obtain more information from the Registrar General and from the Lord Lyon, both of whom she came into contact with from time to time.
  5. Newsletter The Newsletter would be e-mailed to all and letters sent out to those without e-mail. It was hoped these minutes, along with the news letter, would eventually be on the Doig web site.
  6. Clan Chief It was agreed that there several likely candidates for this High Office :- This topic would be resolved at our next Gathering.
  7. Next Family Gathering It was agreed that future events would be held in 2006, 2008 and 2010, the latter date to be held at a venue abroad possibly Canada The venue in 2006 was to be the Smith Museum in Stirling and the Ceilidh venue also unchanged (in Thornhill) as they were both a success last year. The meeting and mingling feature of last year would be maintained and several lecturers had already been pencilled in. The first evening event of the 4 th August would be an evening of entertainment. Wullie Doig being the basis for the entertainment.
  8. Next Family Gathering It was agreed that future events would be held in 2006, 2008 and 2010, the latter date to be held at a venue abroad possibly Canada The venue in 2006 was to be the Smith Museum in Stirling and the Ceilidh venue also unchanged (in Thornhill) as they were both a success last year. The meeting and mingling feature of last year would be maintained and several lecturers had already been pencilled in. The first evening event of the 4 th August would be an evening of entertainment. Wullie Doig being the basis for the entertainment.
  9. Further discussion at the next meeting David Doig would enquire re the booking of a Doig Ceilidh Band (Allan Doig), for the Thornhill venue on the evening of the 5 th . The Ceilidh venue is restricted capacity. Numbers not exceeding 150 can be accommodated comfortably. Therefore a separate early booking for this is required A meeting with the Secretary of the Bridge of Allan Highland Games was most helpful. This event will take place on the 6 th August 2006. It was agreed that a Trophy be purchased at a cost of £50 - £100 which would be presented annually, with no further cost, for an event yet to be decided. Advertising space can be purchased at a full page in black and white for £100; full page in colour for £150; quarter page from £40 to £45. It was hoped that Richard Doig would book a Trade Stand (cost £60 to £120) and it was suggested that members of the Clan would be present all day to speak to anyone interested who visited the stall. Booking of this stand must be before end of April 2006. A possible discount for those members attending was discussed but final decision would depend on numbers attending. Seating could not be pre-booked, it was suggested that some seats could be ‘saved' if a member arrived early enough to do this!
  10. A.O.B.

    11. 1. A Copy of the video Strikebound, which is about the miners strike in Australia in the 1930's involving Doigs in the main parts, would be made available at the next Gathering

    2 . A very good photo of a plaque to Dr David Doig, the former rector of the Old Grammar School of Stirling in 1787-8, was shown. The plaque is on display on the wall of the former school building, which is now the Portcullis Hotel, Stirling . This photo could be put into a future newsletter, with a suitable story.

    3. Regarding the five grave stones situated in a field near the River Teith found to be very overgrown. These should be preserved and ways of doing this were to be investigated, it was pleasing to find that Stirling Council had put up a notice with regard to improvements to be made. Sheep access had been stopped following erection of wire fencing where the wall around the graveyard had fallen into disrepair. The treasurer would follow up proposed future repair work with the correct official at Stirling Council.

    4. The chairman would look for Doig street names on the various computing programmes.

    5. The date and venue of the next Committee meeting to be fixed in November 2005 at “The Smith” Museum Stirling. Time to be arranged.

    6. The next Gathering would again be recorded; the treasurer will make contact with a friend who may be willing to assist in this matter.

    7. Thanks were expressed to the Secretary for arranging the venue at Creity Hall Doune

The meeting closed at 17.40hrs

MINUTES OF THE FIRST COMMITTEE MEETING
HELD 11/04/2005 @ 2pm

Those Present:-

Chairman - Kerr Doig , Secretary - John Doig , Treasurer - Ian Doig, Member - Henry Doig

  1. Review of the First Official World Wide Gathering. 5-7 th November 2004 The consensus of opinion was that the meeting was well organised in a good venue and the food provided was excellent. The Chairman (Kerr) was commended for doing an excellent job.
  2. Chairman's Report Kerr reported that the event was run with a small profit thanks to Wendy Doig (Secretary's wife) for a successful raffle at the very enjoyable Ceilidh. Especial thanks were expressed to Elspeth King for the running of the event held at the Smith Art Gallery and Museum and for obtaining speakers and for the archive research. The Archivist from Stirling had brought along some previously lost genealogy work done by A Deuchars in 1825 which held Doig/ Dog records going back several centuries. A very special thanks were recorded to the “Webmaster” Ken Doig for all his work over the years without which this forward looking Society would not be meeting.
    3. Kerr also reported that Richard Doig of Forfar http://www.thekiltshop.co.uk/ had registered the new “DOIG TARTAN”
  3. Secretary's Report John apologised firstly to Ian who had been doing some secretarial work which had come to him via the internet . A letterhead had been drawn up to which the Gaelic words of the motto had been added by Dr. Henry Doig A standing order form had also been produced for use by the treasurer. Contact had been made with John Doig in Christchurch N.Z re building membership from over there. A poster would be produced for the Kilmadock Trust Office in Doune to redirect stray Dogs and Doigs to our kennel. A list of persons who had registered on the 6 th Nov 2004 had been received from Ian, those who had “escaped” without contribution would be contacted and over the next few months, e-mails would be sent out with a news letter which the chairman with Henry would produce along with a standing order attachment. John reported that he had managed to compile a DVD of the last Gathering which was available on two DVD's at a cost to be determined by the committee, thought to be between £10 & £20 pounds. Cost of discs to be reimbursed to the secretary. The secretary reported that, other than a few DVD's, no costs had been made on the Society.
  4. Treasurer's Report Ian presented a financial report. He also stated that he considered that a forward budget was unnecessary at this early stage, as no significant costs were anticipated yet. The Committee agreed. He reported that at present the Society had £528 in its bank account . It was agreed that a sum of £10 per annum should be the target to aim for to collect from all members. The Doig Family Society bank account is held at the Royal Bank of Scotland plc, 2 Pitt Terrace Branch, Stirling , Scotland , United Kingdom . The bank account details are available form John Doig.
  5. Follow up of outstanding contributions and membership / membership enquiries It was thought that a newsletter should be published as soon as possible to keep members informed. The content of these minutes would be a basis for the newsletter. This would be sent out mainly via e-mail with a standing order form. The secretary had already indicated his willingness to chase up a few members who had not as yet contributed. It was noted that these members who had made their contribution in November 2004 would be able to set up the standing order to their convenience, but it must be at least annually worth £10.
  6. Clan Registration . In brief the society required 10 Armigers i.e. family / individuals who are willing to gather a sum of money to register a coat of arms. The cost can be around £881 -£1000. This would entitle this person or nominee to a new grant of Armorial Bearings including shield alone which was cheaper than one with a crest. (£1334), an extra cost of around a hundred pounds is also likely to be incurred. Several sheets of information are to be attached to or incorporated in the news letter. To date two Canadian Doigs Ian Michael and Kenneth James have this achievement via their ancestors pn 15 th February 1982 & 10 th June 1965 respectively and another descendant (Kerr) is to prove himself related to another Doig from 1468 who already had a coat of arms etc. It was acknowledge that this task of achieving clan status would take some time, possibly several years.
  7. Newsletter This would be compiled by the committee, the minutes being used as a basis by Kerr and Henry. The Newsletter would be e-mailed to all and letters sent out to those without e-mail.
  8. Clan Chief It was agreed that there were two or three likely candidates for this High Office :- Strong Lineage being one (Dr Henry Doig's family line), others could be the Chairman / Webmaster. This topic would be resolved at our next merry meeting. It was thought a raffle of some sort could be held, the winner to receive a Coat of Arms.
  9. Next Family Gathering After much discussion and a few wet blankets the dates for future events were 2006, 2008 and 2010 the latter date to be held at a venue abroad. A further agreement that the next Gathering would be the first weekend of August 2006 4-5 th followed by a visit to the Highland Games at Bridge of Allan on the 6 th , some three miles from Stirling. The venue was again thought to be the “Smith” and the Ceilidh venue also unchanged (in Thornhill) as they were both a success. The numbers would be around150 max at the Ceilidh venue.
  10. A.O.B.

    A Copy of the video Strikebound, which is about the miners strike in Australia in the 1930's involving some Doigs, would be made available at the next Gathering 2 . A very good photo of a plaque to Dr David Doig, the former rector of the Old Grammar School of Stirling in 1787-8, was shown. The plaque is on display on the wall of the former school building, which is now the Portcullis Hotel, Stirling . This photo could be put into the newsletter, with a suitable story.

    Concern was expressed re the 5-6 grave stones which were on the field near the River Teith which were overgrown and had cattle in the area. These should be preserved and ways of doing this were to be sorted via Elspeth King and the “Smith”. 4. It was agreed that anything of interest related to “old Doig memorabilia” should be copied and sent to the Kilmadock Trust in Doune and deposited there. In paper back form if possible.

    The chairman reported that the Webmaster had contingency plans in hand if any misfortune should befall him/ family regarding future running of the Doig Website

    Thanks were expressed to the treasurer for the use of his home and hospitality received. Thankfully for those driving no whisky was offered.

  11. The meeting closed at 17.40hrs