Dave McKay, your National President
Photo by Cheryl McKay
The study of Scottish heritage and Mackay lineage has been a lifelong passion of mine. From early child hood in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, I listened to family stories about my great grand father Robert’s Scottish roots. While on a camping trip in 1962, in Nova Scotia, I attended my first clan meeting and highland event. The newspaper there featured an article about the 24th annual Gaelic Mod in St Ann’s, Nova Scotia. It mentioned there would be a gathering of the Clan Mackay featuring J. Keiller Mackay, Chief of the clan and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Attending that event was the beginning of 40 plus years of intensive effort to discover everything Scottish. Other life experiences during those years included four memorable trips to Scotland with my wife Cheryl and our family. One of those trips was to Fraserburgh and Aberdeenshire. It was the first time that any one of my family had ever returned to the ancestral homeland since Robert McKay left in 1849. On another trip, we added to the collection of memories an overnight stay at Bighouse, a Mackay manor house which is now a B&B at Farr in Sutherlandshire. It is only by traveling Mackay country and spending time there that one gets a true feeling of the Mackay heritage.
In 1984 I joined Clan Mackay of North America; however it was not until after my retirement from the position of Dean of Business Education at Monroe County Community College in 1994, that I took an active role in the Society. In 1998 I was appointed a commissioner for Michigan, and in 2001, Vice President Steve McGee appointed me to be Midwest Regional VP. In 2003 I was appointed to be Vice President of the Clan Mackay Society USA to replace Joy Elliott who became President. I was elected as Vice President in 2004. Over the years I have met many fantastic folks who claim Mackay heritage. Twenty years of membership in Clan Mackay has provided this opportunity.
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