Pipe dream set to become a reality

By Angela Spence

June 2013

See this article as it appears in the magazine

THE withdrawal of the RAF from Kinloss last summer was a major blow to the Moray business community as it meant a substantial decline in customer numbers.

Although the army has now taken over the former air force base, the local economy is still reeling from the impact.

Knowing there were changes afoot in Kinloss, a group of Moray executives volunteered to organise an event that would bring people flocking to the area.

Forres Events Ltd was set up in March last year and is the driving force behind Piping Hot Forres European Pipe Band Championships, which has the potential to generate £2 million of trade.

"All the business people who have got involved in this had a vision to take the grimace off people's faces and give them something to smile about," said Ian Widdowson, chairman of Forres Events Ltd and owner of Beaver Travel.

"The loss at Kinloss has had that effect on the area commercially so we wanted to put on an event that would promote and showcase the region for the economic benefit and betterment of the community."

Even areas outwith Moray are set to gain as Forres Events Ltd predicts that all available accommodation from Pitlochry up to Inverness and across to Aberdeenshire will be taken up by those attending the event.

Around 10,000 spectators and 5,000 competitors are expected to descend on Grant Park in Forres on Saturday, June 29 for what is the second largest annual piping competition in the world.

Piping Hot Forres, whose title sponsor is Benromach Speyside Single Malt Whisky, is also the only contest of its kind to be organised by a limited company rather than a local authority.

The competition this month is the first of three to be held in Grant Park as the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) awarded Forres Events Ltd the contract until 2015.

Pulling off such a large-scale project does not come cheap and Forres Events Ltd has been working tirelessly to raise the £180,000 needed, and that is just for the first year. The company has to come up with the same sum of money for the 2014 and 2015 competitions.

Most of the funds have been raised through corporate sponsorship. Over 100 businesses are using Piping Hot Forres as an opportunity to promote their services and there are still some advertising spaces available.

"Our sponsorship package ranges from platinum at £6,250 plus VAT down to nickel at £125 with a series of benefits," Mr Widdowson explained. "It has been designed to suit businesses of all sizes and even individuals who want to play their part.

"We've covered the whole spectrum because to raise £180,000 in today's world is a big task but we are very pleased with the support we have received from local businesses to date.

"People who aren't able to come up with cash can contribute in other ways, such as offering their services in lieu of sponsorship or volunteering on the day. We have been blessed with volunteers but we are always looking for more."

David Urquhart, retired joint managing director of Gordon & MacPhail, which is the owner of Benromach Distillery, is the driving force behind the project although the idea originally came from the Forres Communities Activities Association (FCAA).

"When I was working with the family business, marketing came under my remit and we at Benromach wanted a way to work with the community," he said.

"The company got involved with two opportunities, one of which was the Forres Vintage Vehicle and Theme Day. I worked very closely with them for four years helping them to reposition themselves and get their bid sorted out.

"In the process I got involved with the FCAA and its chairman George Alexander handed me a letter saying 'wouldn't Forres' Grant Park be an ideal place to hold a major piping event?'

"They had spoken to the RSPBA back in 2001 but the figure that was quoted was too much for them. I took the letter and worked with Ian Chapman, my marketing manager at Gordon & MacPhail, and we set about creating a business plan."

Mr Urquhart also liaised with Moray Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise which showed support by donating funds and helping with event arrangements.

"The council were very keen to get involved because they recognised that hosting big events in the area would help tourism," Mr Urquhart continued.

"We are also working with them to enhance Grant Park. We've got various projects that won't happen in year one, but over a period of time we've identified what would make the park better for the community. Our challenge is to hopefully achieve that by the end of year three.

"Forres Events Ltd is set up in such a way that once we've done our three-year stint we can easily hand over to another group of people if they wanted to continue it in some form.

"This is the key of how the public and private sectors can work together to achieve something for the benefit of the community. This is an exercise of both working together on one vision, which we hope we will leave a legacy at the end."

He added: "All this collaboration and joined-up thinking approach has to play a clear part going forward for the community, and we are hoping that what we are doing as a voluntary group of businessmen is taken heed of.

"I think the one thing that we have all been taught is that nothing is for definite. We had been so secure because of the two air stations and we've had the dent as a wake-up call. Now it is all about how you take that lesson."

Mr Urquhart has also been working with the FCAA on a number of fundraising activities that have helped to generate almost £10,000 for the project.

"Once we had some money aside we were ready to put a bid in, but at that time I was still in employment and I had become chairman and title sponsor, which wasn't going to work," he explained.

"We felt the project had to come back into the hands of the community so I stepped down as chairman and spoke to Ian about taking over. I am still very much involved, but Ian now leads it."

Forres Events Ltd submitted its bid to the RSPBA in January last year and three months later the group was told that its proposal had been successful.

The RSPBA was impressed with the professional bid document the group had produced and particularly liked the "trump card" Forres Events Ltd had used.

"We had discovered while putting the bid together that in 1947 a Forres man called Jimmy Watson won the drum major contest at the first ever World Piping Championship held at Murrayfield in Edinburgh," Mr Widdowson said. "His brother also won the bass drum section.

"Jimmy's son and grandchildren still live in the town and at one stage they all played in the pipe band together with Jimmy as the drum major. Our intention is to have the Watson family represented in quite a big way on the day."

The RSPBA was so pleased with the bid that it gave Forres Events Ltd the European championships, even though the company had only applied to host the Scottish or British competition.

"It was quite a surprise when we realised we had got the European championship. It is the biggest available to us because the World Piping Championship never leaves Glasgow," Mr Widdowson added.

Although a huge honour, it meant the estimated costs as outlined in the proposal had to be dramatically increased.

Despite the extra work involved, Forres Events Ltd was still determined to put on a world-class event.

It even assigned Stuff Creative, an experienced marketing company from Edinburgh, to do the branding for all Piping Hot Forres promotional material.

The group also did a test run at the regional piping championships, which took place last month in Grant Park in conjunction with Forres Vintage Vehicle and Theme Day. Although only 11 pipe bands were involved it gave Forres Events Ltd the opportunity to put some measures such as traffic management in practice before the day, so as not to leave anything to chance.

"This has been about believing that we can pull it off, especially when we still had to get the money in the bank," Mr Urquhart stressed. "It's a lot of responsibility and there have been some really tense moments. At times you think: 'What have I done?' But with anything you get involved in, if you believe in it and can talk passionately about it, it is amazing what you can achieve."

* Scottish Provincial Press, parent company of Executive, is proud to be media sponsor for this event.

Get involved

For more information about Piping Hot Forres, visit: www.pipinghotforres.com or call into the office at the Tolbooth on Forres High Street.

To enquire about corporate sponsorship or volunteer opportunities contact David Urquhart on: david@davidurquhart.com