Great Scot April 2019 Great Scot_156_April_2019_Online | Page 69

2012 he has worked untiringly
for OSSO.
Geoffrey Charles Alan
McCracken (’65) was at Scotch
from 1954 to 1965, as a fourth
generation McCracken family
member at Scotch. He was elected
to OSCA Council in 1986, and was
OSCA President in 1997, serving
on OSCA Council for 14 years
Geoff has been a passionate Old
Scotch Football Club player and
committeeman since 1966. He
played 133 games with OSFC,
and was Treasurer of the club in
1971 and again from 1976 to 1983.
He was awarded life membership
of the OSFC in 1981, and later
served as Vice President and VAFA
delegate.
After retiring from a senior auditing
position at Coles Myer in 2007,
Geoff became Secretary of the
OSFC, a position he held for the
next four years, before becoming
Football Administration Manager
in 2012. He finally stepped down
from the OSFC committee in
2013. Together with Bruce Brown
and John Bell, Geoff is currently
working on a centenary history of
the OSFC.
Geoff served as convenor of
OSCA’s Annual Giving program
in 1992. He is a member and the
former auditor of the Old Scotch
Heritage Club and the Old Scotch
Wine and Food Club, and is a
former Treasurer of the OSCA
Collegians. Geoff received an
OSCA Merit Award in 2012 for his
outstanding service to the Old
Scotch Collegians’ Association.
2018 OSCA Merit Awards
Lesley Rae Armstrong has
helped countless Scotch Family
members during her long
association with the School.
Coming to Scotch in 1969 to work
in the Business Office, Lesley later
became Secretary to the Heads
of the Junior School, Graham
Nowacki and Guy Mason. Later
she was Executive Assistant to
the Principal, first to Dr Gordon
Donaldson, then to Acting
Principal, Ian Savage, and finally to
Tom Batty in his early days.
She retired in 2008.
On retirement, Lesley became
Secretary of the newly-formed
Old Scotch Past Staff Club, and
devoted her energy to helping set
up the club, which now has 140
members. She has enthusiastically
and carefully maintained the
records, communicated regularly
with members, welcomed new
members and organised events.
Although she has stepped down
as Secretary, Lesley continues to
serve enthusiastically on the club’s
committee.
Colin Brooke Bates (’66)
attended Scotch from 1961 to
1967. He was a founder of the
Old Scotch Pipes and Drums,
and has since been an active
member, serving tirelessly as Band
Secretary and helping to set up the
club’s governance and structure,
build membership and engage with
Australian pipe band organisations.
Colin came to the club after
a long absence from piping,
and was keen to re-establish
his piping skills. He now takes
his place at the band’s regular
piping engagements. As Band
Secretary, Colin has worked
diligently, keeping records and
minutes, and drafting the band’s
incorporated associations rules,
as well as maintaining formal
links between the band and Pipe
Bands Victoria. His dedication
to the band’s success, and his
unfailing attendance at practices,
committee meetings and functions
is exemplary.
Susan Joan (Suzi) Cossar has
been a member of the OSMaD
team since the club’s first show,
Les Misérables, in 2008, and
she has been heavily involved
in every show since that time.
Suzi’s continuing involvement has
mainly been with the costume
and wardrobe team, but given
the nature of a volunteer-run
organisation, there are always
other duties to perform to make
sure the cast and crew and
production teams are cared for in
the way OSMaD likes to operate.
Suzi has helped with cast
costume measurements, provided
sustenance to the cast and
production teams, and, once the
show is in performance mode,
on any given night backstage she
helps in the dressing rooms or in
the wings, while someone makes
a rapid 10 second change of
costume. OSMaD is most grateful
for Suzi’s 11 years of continuous
help.
James Ronald (Ron) Rule (’66)
was at Scotch from 1958 to 1963.
He has been the Secretary of the
OSCA Adelaide branch for about
25 years, and has been very
active in that role. He has served
alongside the current branch
President, Ross McOmish (’66),
during Ross’s entire presidential
term.
Ron ihas been the driving force
behind the Adelaide branch for
a quarter of a century, and is a
dedicated branch member. He
attends to most of the branch’s
operations very efficiently, and
thoroughly enjoys his role. He is
meticulous and always very well
organised.
In the early 1970s Ron did a tour
of duty in Vietnam as a National
Serviceman, and has since
worked devotedly for the welfare
of Vietnam veterans. Now retired,
Ron enjoys bike riding, public
speaking with Rostrum, and
travelling overseas with his wife,
Judith.
www.scotch.vic.edu.au Great Scot
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