125 Dinner05 March 2009JOHN SWINNEY PAYS TRIBUTE TO BOYS' BRIGADE BACKGROUND
Speaking as the chief guest at a celebration dinner organised by The Boys’ Brigade, Edinburgh, Leith and District Battalion, John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, paid tribute to his own Boys' Brigade leaders who acted as his mentors when he was a boy in The Boys’ Brigade.
Mr Swinney remarked that as a teenager he was often involved in Boys' Brigade activities every day of the week. Friday was Boys' Brigade night, Saturday football, Sunday Bible Class and so on. He said “It was only when I was older that I realised just how much time these men had given up on my behalf. I am due a great debt of gratitude to all the Boys' Brigade leaders who spent so many hours keeping me busy and involved.”
The sell out audience of current and past Boys' Brigade members at the dinner in the Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh on Saturday 28th February 2009 also heard Mr Swinney explaining how the Boys' Brigade taught him many valuable skills, such as public speaking, and gave him the confidence to go on to be a successful politician.
The minister also commented on the vital role played by voluntary youth organisations in the life of many young people in Scotland. He believed, were more young people to be involved in the Boys' Brigade and other similar organisations, then he would not have to allocate so many resources to the justice system. He said it was also important to remember that 125 years ago the Boys' Brigade founder William Alexander Smith started the Brigade because he saw a real need to help young people. It was not a case then or now of people expecting the government to solve the problem.
As part of his speech he said “I spent my formative years immersed in various activities as part of The Boys' Brigade. I learnt many lessons about duty, teamwork and leadership, all of which have had a profound and beneficial effect on my life. I will always recognise The Boys' Brigade as having created strong foundations that benefit me now and will benefit me in the future."
Responding to the Minister the Battalion President Mr James Ralston thanked Mr Swinney for his kind remarks and said that it was good to see former Members of the Brigade going on to be such a success in Scotland. He welcomed his comments about the Brigade, and said he thought it was important that the Scottish Government “recognises The Boys’ Brigade as equal partners in the youth work sector.”
Mr Bill Stevenson the Battalion Treasurer, who chaired the event, said “We had a terrific evening and it was great to hear John Swinney explain just how much the Boys’ Brigade meant to him”.
The evening was one of a number of events organised by the Battalion to mark the 125th Anniversary of the founding of the Boys’ Brigade in 1883. John Swinney was a member of the 13th Edinburgh Company based in Corstorphine, and still active in that community. He served both as a boy and an adult leader and gained the highest award in the Boys' Brigade, the Queen’s Badge, in 1981.
