Get to Know CMAA Washington Commissioners: Bill and Ellen Huls

The Huls family has been the clan commissioner for Clan MacNeil in Washington since 2001.  Bill put an inquiry in to see if there would be any clan representation at the Seattle Scottish Highland Games, and was told he was now it! His wife Ellen jumped in right away, creating booth materials out of pictures from their recent honeymoon trip to the Isle of Barra and handmade signage from clan material she bought online. For the last 20 years they've been traveling to various Northwest highland games, representing the clan proudly.  They are thrilled to meet new friends and share clan history, adjusting and adding to the booth as they learn more about the history.

Outside of the highland games Bill is the Artistic Director of Renton Civic Theater, a local nonprofit live theater organization that serves the South Puget Sound community. Ellen is a high school counselor.  They are of course very involved in the local performance community, but they also volunteer with a program that Ellen help start at her school to feed students on the weekends and recently throughout the pandemic. They also love camping around the northwest with their cairndoodle puppies Ceili and Melodi, who are better known as the Macneil Dragons.

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CMAA Commissioner in Nevada, Lowell Patton

Lowell Patton wears many hats within CMAA organizaiton: Clan Macneil Nevada Commissioner, Commissioner Coordinator, and Council Member

Lowell has been the Nevada Commissioner for Clan Macneil for over ten years.  He has arranged tents at the Reno Celtic Celebration and the Las Vegas Highland Games.  Clan Macneil held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Las Vegas Highland Games in 2019.  Lowell is a Past Chief of the Nevada Society of Scottish Clans and has delivered the Address to a Haggis as well as been the emcee for the Robert Burns Celebration that is regularly attended by over 400 people.

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Kick off the 2023 Highland Games in NC at Loch Norman with Needham and Phyllis Bass!

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Join Us in Loch Norman

Phyllis and Needham Bass will be hosting the Clan Macneil Association of America tent at the upcoming Loch Norman Highland games, this April 15th and 16th.  The games take place at beautiful Rural Hill historic site and nature preserve.  The Loch Norman Games features Men and Women’s Scottish Games, piping and drumming competitions, dancing competitions, live music, a kids zone and an historic encampment.  In addition, there are vendors featuring Celtic jewelry, tartan items, kid’s toys and Scottish goods that are hard to find in the States.  The games also have several food vendors, so if haggis is your taste, this is the place!  Come out and spend the weekend and make sure to stop by the Macneil tent. 

We feature the MacQuiz game for kids of all ages and adults too.  Win a flag of Scotland and learn a bit about the “Auld Country.”  Phyllis and Needham will be on hand to help you find your Macneil or Scottish connection. 

Your Hosts

At bit about your hosts, Phyllis is the 4th great granddaughter of Neil “Dubh” McNeil known as the Colonizer who brought 350 Scots to North Carolina in 1739, and founded the Cross Creek township north of present day Fayetteville, NC. She is also a descendant of Macalister and Campbells who were in this group of settlers. She has done quite a bit of research on these Scots and their descendants and is more than willing to help point people in the right direction in their research. Needham’s only claim to the McNeill clan is that he was smart enough to marry one.  His linage is through McCutchen, Knox, Maule and the mysterious McLamb clans. He has however done quite a bit of research to Scottish culture and history and loves to share with young and old.

Kick off the 2023 Highland Games in NC at Loch Norman.  We look forward to seeing you there!

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Terry and Bonnie McNeill, Enjoying the Good Life!

Our Southern California commissioners are Bonnie and Terry McNeill. Bonnie is a retried nurse and worked at Loma Linda University Medical Centre for 40 years. Terry is a 38-year veteran of the Colton Fire Department who retired as Battalion Chief.

We are enjoying the good life traveling and exploring in our 40 ft. motorhome. We love to kayak. They take them whenever they travel - picture it: kayaks on top of the Jeep, Jeep pulled behind the motorhome.

Bonnie surprised Terry with a MacNeil kilt on his Birthday years ago which prompted him to look into his family history, which of course drew him in and had him very interested in all things Scottish. The Costa Mesa Games were their first Games and after attending, they were hooked on everything. The MacNeil Clan Commissioner at the time was was Kerux-David Neal. In Terry's words, "he was so knowledgeable and made us feel like family". As a result, Well we became co-commissioners and help David, in two years David retired and turned over the tent to us.

California has several Games, you can find Bonnie and Terry at The Queen Mary Games in Long Beach in February, the Costa Mesa Games in May and the Seaside Games in Ventura. Swing by their tent and say hello!

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Have you met Rochester Bob, CMAA’s New York Commissioner?

Scottish Armiger, Knight Commander with Star of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Fellow of the Society of Antiquarians of Scotland, and 47th Recipient of the MacNeil order of Merit. I am currently a Member of Council, the Chairperson of the Scholarship Committee and the Commissioner for Western New York. 

My wife Nikki and I were “rescued” by our senior English Cocker Spaniel, Hershey.  We love him!  I have been successful in my career of managing large-scale IT programs. In my free time, I enjoy serving As a Lector and Eucharistic Minister at St Rita’s Roman Catholic Church, holding various leadership roles in the Knights of Columbus, traveling the world as much as I can, boating and sporting clays shooting.  And I have a wee passion for the Uisge Beatha. 

I love to meet new people and listen to their stories, and that’s why I love having a tent at the Scottish Games - it’s a great chance to learn about peoples’ sometimes complex family trees and to share the Clan’s history
 both fact and tradition!  I’ve met so many great people, both at the tent and in the Clan MacNeil Association, and we’re always looking for more MacNeils to share in the fun and to share about themselves. 

Bi gu math agus le deagh dhĂčrachd,

Rochester Bob McNeill

Have you met Rochester Bob, CMAA’s New York Commissioner? Read More »