Thank you to Gordon
Celebration in honour of well-known Comrie stalwart
The achievements of a former Comrie community councillor – believed to be the longest- serving member in Scotland – will be celebrated tomorrow.
Gordon McCartney, who resigned recently after an unprecedented 43 continuous years of service, will be presented with a special gift in honour of his hard work by local MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.
The event, in the Comrie Parish Church annexe, will include an invited audience of the community councillors Gordon has worked with and has been organised by Sandra McRitchie.
Sandra is the recentlyappointed chair of the community council and describes Gordon as a “rock” who has helped her and many others for the past four decades.
She says: “We wanted to do something to recognise how much Gordon has done over the years.
“His local knowledge is such that we can turn to him regarding many matters to get the history behind local issues, that alone is precious.
“He has supported new and old members and secretaries of the Community Council throughout the years ensuring the continuity of community life in Comrie goes on.
“This makes our community unique compared to many across Scotland.”
After some time spent researching and talking to other community councillors across the country, Sandra is convinced Gordon is the longest-serving in Scotland.
She continued: “From our investigations we are sure that no other person has served that long without any breaks on any community council which is a great achievement.”
Born in Madderty and brought up in Comrie, Gordon is a wellknown face in the village.
The 74- year- old former farm manager joined Comrie Community Council when it was formed in 1973.
Since then, he has been a stalwart of the community, organising the annual village Hay Ride and doing as much as possible to make sure everyone was safe when floods devastated the village twice in 2012.
During his time as community councillor, he served as vicechairman for 25 years and chairman for two sessions, totalling eight years.
He still attends meetings and only stepped down because he felt it was time for new blood to take over.
He told the Herald earlier this year: “I joined to do something for the village and the main issues in those days were the roads and planning. Over the years other issues have arisen – in particular the flooding – in the 1990s and 2012.
“I’ve enjoyed being a community councillor and have felt I’ve done a lot for the village.”