Above: Tom Campbell as the host of the Clan Conclave dinner in 2023
By Adam Wade Campbell, Deputy Utah State Commissioner, Clan Campbell Society of North America UT Deputy
This is a summary of an article originally appeared in the July 2024 edition of the E-newsletter of Clan Campbell Society North America. The Society and author have kindly granted their permission for COSCA to reprint the article here.
In the fall of 2022, Tom Campbell, the CCSNA Utah State commissioner, and Adam Campbell, his Deputy Commissioner (below), embarked on a mission to rejuvenate the Clan Community in the Rocky Mountain Region. Many local Clan Commissioners were aging out and struggling to maintain their roles as tent conveners at local events.
To address this, they studied many of the local organizations to better learn how to grow the local clan representation. They spoke with leadership from the Rotary clubs, Toastmasters, the Lions Club, St. Andrews Society, and even the Freemasons. Here are the essential lessons they learned from these thriving groups:
Leadership with Succession Planning
Clearly Defined Values and Goals
Regular Engagement Activities
Effective Communication Triangles
The community groups emphasized the importance of finding additional member volunteers in the management of the organizations. They found that the Clan Commissioner responsibilities were very heavy in comparison to the other organizations. They were able to break down the Commissioner responsibilities into four separate roles.
Tent Conveners/Event Coordinators
Membership Maintenance and Communication
Local Ancestry and Genealogy
General Administrative and Clan Management
They realized they needed to revitalize the Clan by adding engagement opportunities to entice the local community. Therefore, they hosted the first Clan Conclave dinner in September 2023 after promoting the event heavily amongst many of the Clan members in Utah during the 2023 Scottish festivals. Clan Members were also willing to spend time and money to enjoy a good cultural engagement with the clans.
Six months after the Clan Conclave event, there are half a dozen Commissioners working together in Utah to standardize Clan systems, membership management, event coordination, and engagement activities that can combine clans to make economies of scale for the large and small Clans alike. The Clan Conclave group now has over 250 members from various Clans that receive regular updates on events.
If you are Delegate or Alternate of a COSCA Organizational Member, you can access the complete article with many more details here: https://www.cosca.scot/revitalizing-local-clans
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