Dave Thompson MSP

ONE of the great things about being an MSP is having the opportunity to attend a wide range of events to learn more of the needs of others who strive to improve the fortunes of the community.

Through this aspect of my role, I am constantly bowled over by the enthusiasm and expertise shown by countless committed activists who work to improve the lives of others.

Such was the experience earlier this month when Andrew MacKenzie, executive director of The Speyside Trust, invited me to its centre at Badaguish, off the Cairngorm road, to learn more about another new project this wonderful organisation has hosted there.

JobConnect has been set up to offer relevant work experience to teenagers as they prepare to leave education and move into the world of work. When I visited this month I was delighted to meet a range of trainees from the local area who were learning what working in leisure, hospitality and catering entails. I am sure that following their placements, Ross, Sam, Ryan, Richard and Kennedy will now be able to make an informed decision when considering their future careers.

JobConnect is just one of a range of worthwhile activities carried out at Badaguish by The Speyside Trust. The organisation provides hundreds of respite breaks for people living with a disability or learning difficulty and their families and offers youngsters from “difficult” urban backgrounds across Scotland a chance to get away from it all and see a different, more active, way of life and hopefully re-examine how they are living their lives in their own communities.

Providing such a broad range of services is no small undertaking and each year The Speyside Trust must raise almost a third of a million pounds just to cover its regular overheads.

Fortunately I am not alone in valuing the work carried out at Badaguish and each year hundreds of people take part in a range of events to help raise part of this total.

Perhaps best-known among these is the annual Corrieyairack Challenge, a gruelling duathlon through the Monadhliath Mountains, where competitors race to raise sponsorship for the Trust, and earlier this year I was honoured to have been invited to present prizes for those who won the race but equally impressive, as far as I am concerned, were the hundreds of largely unsung heroes whose times were not as impressive but whose efforts to raise funds matched or even surpassed the super-fit runners and cyclists.

These are funds to cover the day to day running of the centre but further funds are needed to allow it to grow to meet the demands placed upon it. That is why a range of funders from around Scotland and the EU have recently committed £3.1 million to allow the addition of a number of “wigwam” camping huts which would offer affordable all-weather camping facilities for visitors and a new mountain bike trail.

On completion the plan would more than double the number of beds available for visitors from the current 100 to 221, helping to draw more to the area.

I will be watching with interest to see how a planning application for this change is viewed by the National Park.

My admiration of the performance of pupils from Badenoch was further enhanced at another event this month when a group from Kingussie High was hailed as the Highlands and Islands Young Engineers and Science Club of the Year at the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, Highlands and Islands Business Excellence Awards.

Not only had members of the team performed admirably, under the guidance of teacher Brian Dziennik, throughout the proceeding 12 months to earn the accolade, but they conducted themselves impeccably during the glittering occasion at the Drummossie Hotel.

Following the event, I decided the time was right to do what I could to mark the school’s success and so submitted a motion to the Scottish Parliament to congratulate this group of the area’s finest young minds and their enthusiastic teachers on their success.

I took a similar step to mark the achievement of Newtonmore Camanachd’s outstanding performance in defeating neighbours Kingussie, whose efforts were similarly impressive, to take the Camanachd Cup back to the village for the first time in a quarter of a century.

While being an MSP involves a hefty slice of attendance at Parliament and committees, the bonus is that I am able to meet some of the area’s heroes and highlight their achievements and, in so doing, do what I can to boost the image of the area.