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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Meet Florida Commissioner, Jamie Ryan!

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If you've attended any of the Highland Games in Florida in the past couple years, you've probably been fortunate enough to meet the unsinkable Jamie Ryan! Jamie brought her infectious personality to her role of CMAA Central Florida Commissioner. You can meet her in person at many of the games in the southeast or via the Clan MacNeil of Central and Southern Florida Facebook group. We'd like to help you get to know her a little better in this #MeetOurMembers article..

Most of her life, Jamie believed her heritage was strictly Irish. When she attended her very first Celtic festival in 2016, a Tartan Day event in her home state of Colorado, she discovered her Scottish roots. Turns out she's Irish, Scottish, and Welsh! Jamie started hosting Clan MacNeil tents at several of the Colorado games and complete with a fun Clan MacNeil pirate logo t-shirt which can now be found on Clan MacNeil Teespring shop.

Fast-forward a couple years and Jamie headed to Central Florida! She moved away from all her family and friends as well as from her successful career as a paralegal, to beginnew adventures in sunny Central Florida where she is now working in the mobile dentistry industry. And of course, even before she moved, she had agreed to be one of two CMAA Florida Commissioners saying, "I love being at a clan tent so that I can help other people find their clan and share the heritage. Whether visitors are MacNeil or not I really love the socializing of a festival. There's always someone new to me, something interesting to learn, something fun to share."

There are 12 festivals every year in Florida and that is a lot to cover! For a list of the ones where Clan MacNeil usually has a tent, check out the Highland Games and Other Events - Southeast on the CMAA website.

Fun fact, when Jamie is not at a Clan MacNeil or St. Andrew's event, she and her roommate host a travel vlog on YouTube "Biddy Buddies" (@BiddyBuddies). The mission is to encourage older people to keep finding new experiences, traveling, and having fun. Check it out, they would love to have more followers!

Thanks for checking out our blog - we hope you will come out and meet Jamie at an upcoming event! If you'd like share a "get to know you" article in this #MeetOurMembers series, let us know!

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Commissioner’s Blog introduction

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Commissioner’s blog
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I am a Macneil via my paternal grandmother, who was Anna Loretta McNeil. (Never ever call her Anna- my goodness she hated that name!) My name is Jamie Ryan. I am a brand-new commissioner and a new member of the Clan Macneil. Maybe that makes me a complete “nube”, but it also gives me a view of being a commissioner that comes from nothing. My perspectives and ideas might seem ridiculous to me once I have some experience under my belt, but right now, my ideas aren’t tainted by reasons why they won’t work.

My membership in the clan Macneil came about after my boyfriend broke up with me and it would have been awkward to continue helping run his clan tent. I researched the clan Macneil on the internet and saw that there was no current commissioner for Colorado so at the same time as joining the clan I volunteered to be Colorado commissioner. I started from scratch in creating a tent, not because resources weren’t available to me, but I was too inexperienced to even know the people to ask or the even the right questions. (You don’t know what you don’t know.)

One of the first things I did was to create a Clan Macneil of Colorado Facebook page. (@clanmacneilofcolorado) It’s free (how can you go wrong with free??) and fairly user friendly/intuitive to set up. I post on the page every single day. Whether it’s a bit of Scottish history on this day, information about upcoming events and activities, or my “Did ye ken” section (which is generally a Scottish tidbit about history, traditions, etc.), it only takes me ten minutes a day. I am hoping that likes on the page will continue to grow and it will become a resource for clan members to be in touch.

My dreams for participating in the clan include growing the presence of Clan Macneil in Colorado and being a part of a closer-knit national community. It would be fun for me to participate in non-festival gatherings, like a Hogmanay party, progressive dinners, game nights, or maybe even music nights. I want to help create a close community through a state facebook page, meet-ups and maybe an online newsletter (for which there are several free options! See above
I like free!).

It would be awesome if this blog became a resource for officers and state commissioners; a place to share war stories, resources, documents, ideas, and fellowship. I can’t wait to get to know other members of the clan and learn from you all!

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