The closing date for Director Nominations for Sealladh na Beinne Mòire, the community parent company that owns the South Uist Estate, has now passed and six candidates have put themselves forward for election.
This year there are four vacancies on the Board. Calum Mac Millan has stood down in accordance with the Articles of Association rules on Director terms and there are three additional vacancies from early retirals this year.
Completed ballot papers must be returned to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Election Services, in the prepaid envelope provided, no later than 11am on Wednesday 4th November 2020 in order to be included in the count. The ballot papers will be counted by CnES election staff and once results are received we will announce the results on social media and issue a press release to inform the community.
Darren Taylor, Chief Executive of Sealladh na Beinne Mòire said;
“I would like to thank all the all the members of our community who have put themselves forward in such a turbulent year and wish them all the best of luck. SnBM looks forward to working with a full board in 2021 and moving forward together with the future plans and development for our islands.”
The 2020 Candidates List is:
Candidate No. | Candidate Name | Proposer | Seconder |
1 | Donald John Cameron | Iain Archie MacNeil | DJ MacEachen |
2 | Calum Scott MacAulay | Calum MacAulay | Alasdair Steele |
3 | Gill MacInnes | William Justice | Margaret Justice |
4 | Calum Mac Millan | Calum MacDonald | James John MacDonald |
5 | Donnie Steele | Alistair MacAulay | Mary Schmoller |
6 | Catriona Walker | Kevin John Wild | Christina Laing |
Candidate statements giving their reason for standing and skills/knowledge that they can contribute to the Board.
Nominee – Donald John Cameron Proposer – Iain Archie MacNeil; Seconder – DJ MacEachen I am born and bred on South Uist and have spent my life immersed in the crofting community. The Island culture and crofting are both very important to me and fit well with the ethos of community led ownership. Having returned to the Island full time last year, after working internationaly in the oil industry, I have returned home to take over the running of our family crofts. I am keen to see the potential of Stòras fullfilled, maximising current assets and actively pursuing the other opportunities already identified, whilst also being mindful of addressing the many issues that are important within our community. I am keen to see an open and transparent organisation that delivers against a long term strategy for our community and islands, for both ourselves and future generations. I consider myself to be an approachable individual, that if elected will strive to represent the community and ensure both the members and community are kept involved and informed on the future direction of Stòras Uibhist. |
Nominee – Calum Scott MacAulay Proposer – Calum MacAulay; Seconder – Alasdair Steele Vision – To help manifest developments and procedures to increase the footfall of tourism to the island as well as encourage the coalition of all local business to create a prosperous future for the islands, in particular South Uist, Eriskay and Benbecula. Having grown up on the Isles of South Uist through my secondary school yeras, I left the islands to study Mechanical Engineering in Coventry. After University I had a 2 year placement at Rolls Royce aerospace before leaving to live in London to work in the financial sector. I have been away from the islands, only returning on festive occasions for 11 years. This I feel relevant as what I have seen is not so much the downfall of the area, but the lack of development, and the follow ups of any development that has already taken place on the isles. The Outer Hebrides is a special place, and recently, having moved up permanently, I’ve noticed not only an increase of people wanting to visit the isles but also an increased interest in the community to support their local businesses. This may be due to the recent pandemic and people realising how lucky we are to have a place like this on our doorstep as well as some of us being lucky enough to call it home. I feel it is important to act on this to ensure the island sees maximum benefits over the next coming years. What I will offer to the council is someone of a younger generation who is passionate for the island to succeed, has a front line perspective of what is and what is not working and who will endeavour to see positive actions to support the local community. |
Nominee – Gill MacInnes Proposer – William Justice; Seconder – Margaret Justice I’d like to be able to help the community progress and prosper through this continued success of the Stòras Uibhist group of companies. To that end I’d like to offer my problem solving skills picked up from over 30 years in the telecoms and computer networking industry, including project management and SME ( Subject Matter Expert) My family are from Eriskay and South Uist. |
Nominee – Calum Mac Millan Proposer – Calum MacDonald; Seconder – James John MacDonald It has been a special privilege to represent members of SnBM since 2017 as we seek to return the community owned Estate to the ethos of community benefit. It has been an interesting time. The company has survived breakup and asset stripping, and we look forward to surviving and serving the best interests of the crofters and residents of the Estate area. Much is made of needing to attract new people but we must also help those already here. Fuel poverty and regeneration of croft houses and cottar sites so that these houses remain with the crofters, is an aspect that the Estate must help with in the form of soft loans and technical assistance, so that people can see their grandchildren in the grandfathers house, or use these houses as they see best, with that house repurposed for the twenty first century. The Estate must set out to be facilitative, accountable and transparent and I shall continue to work to bring these principles into the workings of the Estate. |
Nominee – Donnie Steele Proposer – Alistair MacAulay; Seconder – Mary Schmoller Having been a co-opted director for the last 8 months I have a far better understanding of what needs to be addressed, and how to take Stòras Uibhist forward. I have brought balance and energy to the board room. If elected for the next term, I will continue to look at ways to create sustainable jobs, continue to work on our drainage and crofting issues, look at affordable housing and energy opportunities. As an owner of Uist Gifts & Information, I have knowledge of the tourism sector that Stòras Uibhist can utilise to bring new money and opportunities into our area. As a community councillor for Iochdar and my work with the Uist association of community councils, I am aware of the needs and aspirations of the community. It’s time to grow and move forward together, not dwell on the past. Mòran taing Donnie |
Nominee – Catriona Walker Proposer – Kevin John Wild; Seconder – Christina Laing I would like to join SnBM to share my experience and knowledge of running a community owned business. In my 10 year managerial role at Eriskay Shop, I have demonstrated and fullfilled creative ideas that became projects – seeing those projects from start to a very satisfying completion. I am an active crofter within the twonship of Drimsdale and a native gaidhlig speaker coming from the middle district of Ormicalte South Uist. I would like to be given the opportunity to take your ideas to the board and hopefully make a difference to our community buy-out. |
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