Houston Highland Games Association (HHGA)

A membership meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 9th, 2021, at 7 pm, online, via Zoom. Click here for Registration sign-in.  The primary purpose is to discuss HHGA status and options for a Games/Festival in 2022.

Also, our Nominating Committee is being activated to address HHGA Board positions for 2021-2023.  The following positions will expire on 31 July 2021. Please note that all of the board members cited have agreed to renew/continue their respective positions.  For any questions or concerns regarding such, please contact Jean Pirtle, Nominating Committee Chairperson, via email. 

• Vice President for Site Coordination – Ron Ammons
• Vice President for Ways and Means – Robin McLeod Ingram
• Membership Secretary – Jeanette McBee Douglass
• Treasurer – Michelle Belanger
• Director-at-Large, Position #1 – Max Triola

Our Annual General Membership Meeting and Elections will take place on Wednesday, July 14th, 2021, at 7 pm, pending via Zoom or on-site.–

Melvyn Douglass, FSA SCOT (713) 871-0061 or (832) 305-6044
President HHGA
https://houstonhighlandgames.com
https://www.facebook.com/HoustonCelticFestival

There are no Games/Festivals scheduled by HHGA for this year 2021. We will be investigating a place and date for 2022… probably in September.

The Nominating Committee, consisting of the Directors-at-Large, has been activated to consider a slate of candidates for 2020-2022.  Max Triola will Chair the Committee. Max is a long-time member of HHGA and has previously served as Director-at-Large and hence the Nominating Committee. The deadline for nominations is 20 June 2020.  The three members of the Nominating Committee are Max Triola <triolamj@hal-pc.org>
Jean Pirtle <jeanpirtle1949@gmail.com>, Laurence Ching <iching07@flash.net>,

Email the committee of any nominations for consideration, whether for yourself or for another member. Incumbents may request to be re-elected for an additional term.  The positions of officers and directors in bold expire on 31 July 2020

• Melvyn Douglass, FSA Scot (President 2018-2020)
• Ron Ammons (Vice-President for Site Coordination 2019-2021)
• Robin McLeod Ingram (Vice President for Ways & Means 2019-2021)
• Heather Smith Vacker (Vice-President Competitive Events 2018-2020)
• Kelly Elliott  (Recording Secretary 2018-2020)
• Jeanette Douglass  (Membership Secretary 2019-2021)
• Michelle Belanger  (Treasurer 2019-2021)
• Max Triola (Director-at-Large, Position #1 2019-2021
• Jean Pirtle – (Director-at-Large, Position #2 2018-2020 as of 5/21/2019)
• Laurence Ching – (Director-at-Large, Position #3 2018-2020 as of 5/26/2019)

The Nominating Committee will notify the Recording Secretary of the slate of candidates in writing fifteen (15) days prior to the Annual Meeting which is scheduled to be held on 8 July 2020.  Upon receipt of the slate, the Recording Secretary will, on 23 July 2020, notify all members, prior to the Annual Meeting.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Please renew your membership at least 24 hours prior to the General Membership Meeting.  Simplest to renew online at https://houstonhighlandgames.com/join/  Please note, the MailChimp email you received is personalized and shows the last date of your dues payment (and the end of your name in the header).

On 10 Apr 2020 a Motion was submitted to the HHGA Board of Directors via email, to-wit: a) Vote to cancel HHGA’s scheduled Games Day of Sep 26, 2020, and to re-schedule sometime in 2021; (b) request refund of $2000 deposit from Humble Civic Center.  This motion was approved on 17 Apr 2020.  Subsequently the refund was requested and payment is currently being processed.  

At this time no funded events are scheduled for 2020.  It is anticipated that funding will be available to support another Solo Piping Contest at STES in February 2021. 

The Annual General Membership Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 8 July 2020.  At this time it is unknown whether this meeting will be held in person at a public facility, or online via Zoom or similar virtual tool.  

Courage to you all.  Have faith that we all can soon enjoy a more relaxed environment and wise social interaction in support of government guidelines and common sense!   – mwd

Sharing updates of March events…

Per Janelle Kearns: “The Houston St. Patrick’s Parade Commission is complying with an order from the City of Houston and the Houston Health Department to cancel the 2020 Houston St. Patrick’s Parade due to recent cases of the Coronavirus in our area.  As sad as we are to announce this, we respect this decision and the safety and well being of our volunteers and spectators. I want to thank everyone that has worked so hard towards our parade this year. Your support and commitment are very appreciated and we could not do it without you. We will be holding everyone’s place for March 13,2021!!

Volunteers are needed in support of HHGA’s participation at the 61st Annual St. Patrick’s Parade on Saturday, March 14th. 

Latest info to-date regarding Kemah Celtic Festival: This will be a one-day event only, on Saturday, March 21st, from 12 noon to 10 p.m.

Volunteers are needed in support of HHGA’s booth at the Kemah Celtic Festival   Please contact Ron Ammons and let him know the hours available. Assistance is needed for greeting visitors at the tent, handing out flyers, and sharing upcoming HHGA info.

Greetings from the Houston Highland Games Association!

1) Volunteers are needed in support of HHGA’s participation at the 61st Annual St. Patrick’s Parade on Saturday, March 14th. If available, please contact Kelly Elliott

2) Volunteers are needed in support of HHGA’s booth at the Kemah Celtic Festival during the weekend of March 21-22. If available, please contact Ron Ammons and let him know the hours and which day (Sat/Sun) available. Assistance is needed for greeting visitors at the tent, handing out flyers, and sharing upcoming HHGA info.

2) Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 4th, 2020, at 5:30 pm at

Lyndon’s Pit Bar-B-Q
5320 Hollister St
Houston, TX 77040
Fairbanks/Northwest Crossing

The meeting will start promptly at 5:30 pm. If you plan on eating, order and receive your selections at the self-serving line between 5:00 pm and 5:30 pm. There is no table service. This earlier meeting start time of 5:30 pm is due to Lyndon’s winter hours (they currently close at 7:00 pm)

3) If you are interested in serving on a site committee for our 2020 Houston Highland Games, please e-mail our site coordinator, Ron Ammons

4) Mark your calendars! Our 2020 Houston Highland Games is scheduled for Saturday, September 26th at the Humble Civic Center Arena complex.

Greetings from the Houston Highland Games Association!

1) Volunteer at our second annual Houston Solo Piping Competition on Saturday, February 8, 2020, at St. Thomas Episcopal School. Volunteers are needed for morning registration, stewards, and runners. Volunteers must be ten years of age or older. This is a great opportunity if you need volunteer hours. Shifts are about 3 hours long. Please contact our VP competitions, Heather Vacker if you are interested in volunteering by emailing her at: heathersv1@gmail.com .

If you are interested in competing as a piper or drummer, please fill out an entry form to register on our website. Registrations after January 18th, 2020, are subject to a late fee

2) Our next meeting of the year is this coming Wednesday, February 5, 2020, at 5:30 pm at

Lyndon’s Pit Bar-B-Q
5320 Hollister St
Houston, TX 77040
Fairbanks/Northwest Crossing

The meeting will start promptly at 5:30 pm. If you plan on eating, please go through the line between to get food prior to the 5:30 pm start time. There is no table service. Please note the earlier start time of 5:30 pm is due to Lyndon’s winter hours which means the restaurant closes at 7:00 pm.

3) If you are interested in serving on a site committee for our 2020 Houston Highland Games, please e-mail our site coordinator, Ron Ammons at: txcambron@yahoo.com . 

4) Mark your calendars! Our 2020 Houston Highland Games is scheduled for Saturday, September 26th at the Humble Civic Center Arena complex. 

Greetings and Happy New Year from the Houston Highland Games Association. We hope you all had a very Happy Hogmanay! Please read our updates below to keep up with all our upcoming events.

1) Our first meeting of the year is THIS WEDNESDAY, January 8th, 2020, at 5:30 pm at

Lyndon’s Pit Bar-B-Q
5320 Hollister St
Houston, TX 77040
Fairbanks/Northwest Crossing

The meeting will start promptly at 5:30 pm. If you plan on eating, please go through the line between to get food prior to the 5:30 pm start time. There is no table service. Please note the earlier start time of 5:30 pm is due to Lyndon’s winter hours which means the restaurant closes at 7:00 pm.

2) We will be having our second annual Houston Solo Piping Competition on Saturday, February 8, 2020, at St. Thomas Episcopal School. If you are interested in competing, please fill out an entry form to register on our website. Registrations after January 18th, 2020, are subject to a late fee

3) If you are interested in serving on a site committee for our 2020 games, please e-mail our site coordinator, Ron Ammons at: txcambron@yahoo.com . Please review the detailed descriptions below:
 

Site Coordination Committees:

Grounds – “This committee shall be responsible for overseeing the preparation of the games site, including setup of tents, equipment, stages, dance platforms, public address systems, first aid, and restrooms.  The committee shall allocate space, and arranges for security, clean-up and such other services as may be necessary for the smooth operation of events on the day of the games.” 

Special Attractions – “This committee shall be responsible for arranging for groups and individuals to participate on the day of the games.”  

 Clans and Societies – “This committee shall be responsible for arranging for clan and other Celtic societies to participate on the day of the games.” 

Vendors – “This committee shall be responsible for choosing commercial enterprises and food concessions to participate on the day of the games

4) Mark your calendars! Our 2020 Houston Highland Games is scheduled for Saturday, September 26th at the Humble Civic Center Arena complex. 

Greetings from HHGA!

1) We are having a “mini” HHGA social a the Mucky Duck this Friday night! Clandestine is playing at 7:00 and EJ Jones and his Piper Jones band are playing at 9:30 p.m. If you buy tickets online, be sure to put in the notes section that you would like to be seated with HHGA (Heather Vacker). These shows will most likely sell out!

Here is the link for Clandestine Tix:
https://www.mcgonigels.com/Shows/Clandestine+-+November+1+2019

Here is the link for Piper Jones Band tix:
https://www.mcgonigels.com/Shows/Piper+Jones+-+November+1+2019

2) If you are interested in volunteering for a site committee for our September 2020 Highland Games, please contact our VP site, Ron Ammons, and let him know you’re interested. Site committee members can help with coordinating clans, vendors, entertainment, and other important aspects of the games. If you’re looking for an opportunity to volunteer or get involved, this is a great one! e-mail Ron at: txcambron@yahoo.com

3) Our November Membership Meeting is coming up on Wednesday, November 13, 2019, at Lyndon’s Pit Bar-B-Q located at 5320 Hollister St, Houston, TX 77040. We will gather to eat at 6:00 pm and the meeting will start promptly at 6:30 pm.

We’d like to thank all our athletes, members, judges, clan representatives, vendors, performers, and guests, for a successful 2019 Houston Highland Games! You can see plenty of pictures from the games on our facebook page. If you attended the games, please complete this survey to help us make next year better: 2019 Houston Highland Games Survey

Our October Membership meeting is this Wednesday, October 2, 2019, at Lyndon’s Pit Bar-B-Q located at 5320 Hollister St, Houston, TX 77040. We will gather to eat at 6:00 pm and the meeting will start promptly at 6:30 pm.

Greetings from the Houston Highland Games Association!

1) The return of the Houston Highland games is just 2 weeks away! We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, September 21st, 2019, at the Humble Civic Center & Arena Complex located at: 8233 Will Clayton Pkwy, Humble, Texas 77338. Come enjoy a one day Highland Games event with athletic competitions, clan tents, and vendors.

for more detailed information including athletic registration (athlete registration ends 9/15/19) , please visit our website: https://houstonhighlandgames.com/sept-21st-games/

Schedule of Events ***(Updated 9/17/19)***

8:30-9:00 am Athletes check in

9:30 Games begin- 3 stations simultaneously

Class A,B,C

Men

Masters Women

Masters

Novice

9:40 St Thomas Pipe Band

10:00 Gillian Thain School of Highland Dance

10:30 Houston Highlanders Pipes and Drums

11:00 Godfrey’s Rangers

11:30 Sisters-Ella Forel and Celia Homer

12:00 St. Thomas Pipe Band

Clan Parade

12:30 Godfrey’s Rangers

1:00 Royal Scottish Country Dancers

1:45 Houston Highlanders Pipes and Drums

2:15 Celtic Chorus 3:00 Sia Beaton

3:30 Clan Kelley School of Irish Dance

4:00 St Thomas Alumni Pipe Band

Dagorath medieval live action role play available throughout day
Children’s table with crafts and games.

Sack race contest: 10:45 am

Rope tug of war contest : 1:45 pm

__________________________________
2) September Membership Meeting

Our September Membership Meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, at Lyndon’s Pit BBQ located at: 5320 Hollister St, Houston, TX 77040

Please note that because Lyndon’s closes at 8:00 pm, we have moved up the meeting time. We will gather and start eating at 6:00 pm and our meeting will start promptly at 6:30 pm