New Vice President Appointed
SDFA wants to extend a big THANK YOU to our outgoing Vice President, Dennis Fowler. Thank you Dennis for your hard work and dedication.
Introducing New Vice President Richard Rutherford
Born in Arcadia, Florida, I worked in agriculture after being medically separated from the Marines after only a month and a half. I worked various agricultural jobs.
I moved to Jefferson, GA in 1994 and completed EMT school in 1996 and Paramedic School in 1999. I joined the Navy Reserves in 2002 in response to the 9-11 attacks. I served as a Hospital Corpsman aboard carriers, with the US Marines, and US Navy Hospitals from Bethesda, Maryland to Jacksonville, FL. I was deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and worked at the GTMO Detention Center for 9 months. I served a year with the Navy Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center at Ft. Jackson, SC.

RICHARD RUTHERFORD
I retired from the Navy as a 1st Class Petty Officer in 2024 after 22 1/2 years. I have been employed with Jackson County EMS in Jackson County, GA since 1996 and currently hold the position of Training and Public Relations Officer.
I’ve been married for 26 years to my wife Stacey. I have a son (Travis) and a daughter (Madison), 3 grandchildren Brayden and Brooklyn, aka, “the twins” age 6 and Abigail age 16 months.
My hobbies include traveling, fishing, hunting, and raising goats, and chickens. I serve as a volunteer firefighter in my community of Maysville, GA.
Newsletter Updates Coming Spring 2025
Watch for the new name of the Newsletter in the Spring 2025 Edition!
We are renaming the newsletter!
If you have any name suggestions, send them to:
Catherine Lieberman
2024 - Year End Update
To all of our members, officers and conveners I want to wish you all a very happy Holiday Season.
2024 was a very good year for SDFA. Our conveners have worked very hard at over 20 games this year and our membership numbers have increased. Thank you to all that joined and thanks to all of our incredible conveners.
On a personal note, our current Vice President Dennis Fowler has decided not to run again for a second term due to family obligations. I cannot say enough good things about Dennis and Paulette’s help and expertise over his term. Thank you for your commitment to SDFA. As no one was nominated for the VP position during our recent elections of officers, your Executive Committee will be appointing a member to fill the role for the coming term. That will take place during the first few days of 2025. We will post the results when concluded.
On a very positive note, Robert Heston is allowing SDFA to become the resource venue for his latest SURNAME DATABASE. Robert is an expert on all things Scottish surnames and we are so thankful for Robert allowing us to be the caretaker of this database. With the valuable information Robert has amassed and our Genealogy Committee chaired by Diane Strout, our members will be able to continue their ancestral search. It is Robert’s and our desire to make this database available to all. SDFA is uniquely positioned to become one of the finest research vehicle for our members and beyond. Thank you Robert.
Our Webmaster Ben Kuhns along with Jennifer Fowler, continue to grow our website into a resource for our members by means of the database (coming soon!), forums, current events etc.. Thank you Ben and Jennifer. If any member has any questions, feel free to contact our Membership Chairman, Bill Boyd billboyd27@gmail.com. Bill is a whiz at all things membership related. Bill is a great resource and he works closely with Ben and Jennifer. Bill is happy to assist you.
Our new Media Chairperson, Catherine Lieberman has been updating our Newsletter. I hope you enjoy the new layout and information. We are always looking for your input and stories which Catherine would be able to include in the newsletter. Please contact her at Catherinelhome@gmail.com. Past news letters are also available for download in our forum. Note: you must be logged in to view.
Our new Treasurer, Jeannie Minchak is always available to respond to your questions. You can contact Jeannie at j.minchak@verizon.net. Speaking of the Treasurer position – the 2025 DUES ARE DUE. ($15 single $25 family). You can renew on our website or you can mail your check to:
Jeannie Minchak
13 Ruby Lane
Topsham, ME. 04086.
PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP!
UPCOMING GAMES
On August 16-17, 2025 the Maine Highland Games and Scottish Festival in Windsor, Maine will be holding the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP HEAVY GAMES! SDFA will be hosting a tent at this event. Come for this once in a lifetime event. Professional heavy athletes will be coming from all over the world to compete. SEE YOU THERE!
Jan 11 – Florida Keys Celtic Festival
Jan 18 – Central Florida Scottish Highland Games
Feb 1 – Suncoast Highland Games & Celtic Festival
Feb 8 – Tallahassee Highland Games
Feb 14 – Mount Dora Scottish Highland Festival
Feb 28 – Panama City Beach Scottish Festival
Mar 1 – SE Florida Scottish Festival & Highland Games
Mar 8 – St. Augustine Celtic Music and Heritage Festival
Mar 22 – Sherman Celtic Festival & Highland Games
Mar 29 – 2025 Washington Tattoo
Apr 5 – Hawaiian Scottish Festival & Highland Games
Apr 5 – Dunedin Highland Games
Apr 12 – Ormond Beach Celtic Festival
Apr 12 – Las Vegas Celtic Festival and Highland Games
Apr 24 – Virginia International Tattoo
Apr 26 – Stonehenge Celtic Festival and Highland Games
More to follow.
As always, if you have any questions, suggestions, complaints, or information you would like to express feel free to contact me. If you want to become more involved in SDFA, we would love to have you. We always need conveners, committee volunteers etc. Let me know how I can help you help the SDFA.
Dennis Blythe, President
Scottish District Families Association
2024 Membership Information
Happy 2024 to all SDFA officers and members. This is your webmaster Ben; while I am usually behind the scenes I want to make myself available to assist with helping our members remain current on their memberships. Please read the directions below completely and carefully and ask questions if you are confused.
Three things to be aware of:
1. Existing members MUST renew each year to remain in the SDFA. Dues may be paid on our website or by mail.
2. The website DOES NOT automatically charge your dues each year. You must log on and pay them yourself.
3. If you are unsure of your membership status please contact membership secretary Bill Boyd to confirm. E-mail him HERE.
Renewal options and instructions are detailed below:
If you are a member and have NEVER paid for your membership on the website:
1. Go to www.scottishdistricts.com
2. Click the “BECOME A MEMBER” button at the top of the webpage.
3. Select a Single or Family membership.
4. Enter the required information including payment.
5. Once your order goes through you will receive a receipt and your login information.
6. Done.
If you are a member and have PREVIOUSLY PAID dues on the website:
1. Go to www.scottishdistricts.com
2. Log in with your username and password HERE.
3. If you have forgotten your login, you may reset it HERE.
4. Click the “BECOME A MEMBER” button at the top of the webpage.
5. Select a Single or Family membership.
6. Your information will already be entered for you.
7. Update any incorrect contact or address information and enter your payment method.
8. Once your order goes through you will receive a receipt.
9. Done.
If you prefer NOT to pay online, you may mail your payment.
1. Please contact President Dennis Blythe for instructions.
2. You can e-mail him HERE.
Finally if you no longer wish to be a member:
1. No further action is required from you. HOWEVER
2. Please consider contacting President Dennis Blythe and sharing your feedback on your membership experience. This will help us continue to improve our organization in the future. You can e-mail him HERE.
If you have a problem with the website you can e-mail me HERE.
We hope you will all join us in making 2024 the strongest year for the SDFA yet.
Warm regards,
Ben Kuhns
New Year 2024 Letter
Dear Member,
Happy Hogmany (or Happy New Year) to all our SDFA members, present and past.
As we start the new year we look forward to sharing our sense of identity and pride in our Scottish heritage and celebrate our cultural background.
Were you able to attend a Scottish gathering, a Highland games, or Scottish or Celtic event in 2023? You need to make a plan to visit one in 2024 and make a New Year’s resolution to attend an event. The squeal of the pipes, the Highland dancers, the authentic foods, and the show of athletic strength and skill all stir that Scottish pride.
There are several new Highland games, hopefully there is one near you. The American-Scottish Foundation, americanscottishfoundation.com, has a good calendar in their newsletter (subscribe for free) showing the Scottish events schedule across the United States and Canada. There is also a free copy download of the “Scottish Banner” at the end of their newsletter for their subscribers.
We had a great 2023 with a growth in our membership. We want you to grow with us again in the new year. You will see many changes in the Association, more communications to share our pride in our Scottish heritage. One of the new features in our quarterly newsletter will be a feature called, “What I know about Scotland is…”, where you can contribute just one thing that you know about Scotland. We will make a list of all of the contributions in the newsletter and we can all learn something. If you would like to be in the first issue, all you have to do is email me your fact to sdfa.membership@gmail.com before January 15. This should be fun and I need your participation. An example would be: “What I know about Scotland is that Scotland is about the size of South Carolina”.
If you have not renewed your membership for 2024, please do so, so you don’t miss out on the January newsletter. All 2023 memberships terminate on January 31. It’s easy to renew on the website www.scottishdistricts.com.
Don’t forget the online meeting on January 10 at 8:00 PM. A 40 minute meeting to bring you up to date on what your Association is doing. If you have any question or suggestion that you would like to have discussed email it to Dennis Blythe, President – djblythe1@gmail.com.
I look forward to hearing from you in this new year.
Aye,
Bill Boyd FSA Scot
Membership Secretary
President's Report 2023
Heat. Rain. Mud. Cloudy.
These four weather events seem to be dominating our news throughout these United States. Their impact can be felt everywhere. However, reports from our various conveners, the many Highland Games SDFA has convened, crowds have been large interested in their Scottish ancestry. New members are signing up and and we could not be happier.
Our many conveners are doing a fantastic job. They are going above and beyond in their quest to assist new members and people who are only slightly interested. As any convener will tell you, the majority of people we meet at our tents, at the games, are happy just to find out their surname can be associated with a clan or a district. However, many people want to know even more. If a person’s surname is associated with a clan, they are provided with that information. If that clan is at that game, we at the SDFA tent will direct these people to “their” clan tent. Many clans and associations will also look up names and many will send SDFA those people who seem interested in learning more about “their” new district information. We thank these clans. Because of all this, SDFA is experiencing phenomenal growth. Welcome to everyone who has recently joined.
I want to tell you a little bit of what is going on within SDFA and our Executive Committee. Many discussions are being had regarding the improvement in member service. Discussions center on adding to and improving our members experience related to genealogy, education, media relations and other areas. SDFA is currently in discussions with COSCA (Council of Scottish Clans and Associations) on how we may possibly partner to enhance both those with clan affiliations and those who have distinct affiliations. Both SDFA and COSCA are 501 c3 Charitable Organizations and our missions are quite similar. We, SDFA and COSCA will continue having discussions to try to determine if the cooperation between our two organizations can benefit both of us and the Scottish diaspora here in the USA.
Your Executive Committee is also working on strengthening our infrastructure. Adding to and building upon our current conveners, regional representatives and committee members. In this way, you as a member of SDFA receive as many benefits as SDFA can provide. YOU can join any of these committees. One of the ways we want to improve is to strengthen our conveners by establishing a Conveners Committee. This committee, will have three co-chairs- our regional representatives and Lew Bowlby, a long time convener. I am hoping that this committee working with your Executive Committee will be able to prepare a Convener Handbook which would be a valuable resource for current and potential conveners. Also, this committee would be tasked to be personal informational centers for you! Another committee under consideration is a District Committee. This committee would be tasked to prepare info for the various districts. Perhaps, informational packets.
Also, we can use your expertise. We would like you to become a convener, or help on the Genealogy committee, or media Committee. We would like YOU, if you have this expertise, to assist with our webpage, facebook, or newsletter. Please call me. I would love to talk to you.
See you at the games!