Bob Currie Awarded for Outstanding Leadership
The Scottish Coalition USA has announced the 20th Annual National Tartan Day Award will be presented to Robert “Bob” Currie, Commander of the Name and Arms of Currie, for his outstanding contribution as community leader and volunteer to the Scottish American community. The 2022 National Tartan Day Award will be awarded to Currie at a ceremony in Alexandria, VA on April 5, 2022.
Currie, raised in Scotch Plains and a current resident of Summit, NJ, is a respected leader in the Scottish American community and has been involved in ethnic affairs and historic preservation for the last 30 years.
Currie, along with the support and guidance of the Scots Gaelic community, reestablished the once famed literary dynasty by forming a family society in 1992. Now a “Learned Kindred” as opposed to a Highland Clan, the far-flung Curries have grown from strength to strength, now counting thousands in their membership rolls and multiple social media outlets on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter among others.
The Society’s signature events include “Tartan Day on Ellis Island” (founded in 2002) and the award-winning “Pipes of Christmas” concerts now in its 24th year. The Society has distributed thousands of dollars in scholarships to deserving students in the US, Canada, and Scotland.
The Society is also the Title Sponsor of the US National Scottish Harp Championship and was at the forefront of developing cultural heritage tents specifically for harp, fiddle and Gaelic singing at Scottish games in the United States.
In recognition of his years of service to the Scottish American community, Bob received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2017. He has also received an Honorary Doctorate from Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland and was also the recipient of the Saltire Award from St. Andrew’s University in Laurinburg, North Carolina.
In November of 2017, Bob received the International Gaelic Leader Award from Scotland’s Bòrd na Gàidhlig – the departmental public body of the Scottish Government with responsibility for Gaelic. It was established in 2005 and is based in Inverness. Bob is also one of the inaugural Supporters of the new Lord Lyon Society in Edinburgh.
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