When Drummond Laurie was formed almost 10 years ago, as well as the normal business goals you would expect, it was also determined by all of the team that we wanted to make a real contribution to our local community.
Over the years that have followed we have undertaken many activities to ensure that we followed through on this commitment. In some cases this has involved giving our time, and at various times members of our team have served on the boards and committees of local organisations including Strathcarron Hospice, Falkirk Young Carers, Soroptimists, Rotary, Falkirk Foodbank and DYW Forth Valley to name just a few. In other instances, we have organised fundraising events to support great causes like Strathcarron, British Heart Foundation, and our current charity of the year, Diabetes UK. Members of our team have run marathons, done kilt walks and climbed mountains to raise much needed funds for these and many more worthy causes. All along, the team have had great fun and taken much enjoyment from all of these activities, and we are sure that we will see much more of the same in the years to come.
In late February, members of our team organised our annual Swimarathon on behalf of the Rotary Club of Falkirk, and it turned out to be a marvellous success, with great participation from local clubs and schools, and raising over £8,000 for local good causes. Last Thursday saw the Rotary Club meet to present the shields to the winning teams and to generally celebrate the success of the event. Towards the close of the meeting it was announced that in recognition of all of the great work done by Drummond Laurie and its team over the last 10 years to support the local community and all of these great causes, Rotary International has awarded the Paul Harris Fellow award to the firm. Paul Harris was one of the original founders of Rotary in Chicago in 1905 and such an award is extremely prestigious. Whilst normally bestowed on exceptional Rotarians, other notable figures have been named Paul Harris Fellows over the years, including US President Jimmy Carter, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar and Mother Theresa. It is extremely rare for the award to be made to a business and everyone at Drummond Laurie is extremely proud and humbled by the recognition.