Troy Auto Dealers Join Local Scots to Stage Mini Car Show for Scottish Visitors

The following information was submitted by Bob Giles/St. Andrew's Society of Detroit

When representatives from Scottish organizations around the world attend the Scottish North American Leadership Conference in Troy later this month, they will be greeted by some of Detroit’s finest vehicles.

“We are very proud to be able to offer this display of some of the hottest and best designs from the domestic automakers,” said John Cherry, 2012 conference chair and former Michigan lieutenant governor.

“Included in the mini-fleet for visitors to test drive will be the Chevrolet Volt courtesy of Mike Savoie Chevrolet, a Buick LaCrosse from Somerset Buick-GMC, and the new Ford Focus from Dean Sellers Ford,” Cherry added.

The conference will be held at the Kilgour Scottish Centre (2360 Rochester Court) on the weekend of Oct. 26-28. A ride-and-drive experience will happen at the noon hour of Saturday, Oct. 27.

“This is an important event for Troy because it brings together members of Scottish-based organizations from all over North America and Scotland," said Mike Gordon, president of the St. Andrew’s Society of Detroit and host of the conference.

"The theme this year is ‘Engaging the Next Generation.’ Attracting the youth and young adults to participate in great cultural organizations is an issue that many organizations face. We actually have registrations from some local non-Scottish organizations that want to learn more about this issue.”

The conference will include presentations from organizations that offer cultural-based scholarship programs, such as the Saltire Foundation in Glasgow, Scotland, and the Fulbright program.

Someone who knows exactly how to engage youth through sports is John Kenney of Hazel Park – coach of the championship Team Scotland Lacrosse. He will address the conference on Saturday, Oct. 27.

The event begins the evening of Oct. 26 at the Kilgour Centre with a gala dinner featuring Scottish Highland dancing, the St. Andrew’s Pipe Band, and the Alma College Pipe Band, plus a special appearance of the Chelsea House Orchestra, a world-famous 40-member fiddle-and-guitar group from Chelsea High School in Chelsea, MI.

The annual conference will move to Chicago, IL in 2013 and to Scotland in 2014

Conference information is available at www.detroitscots.com.