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In
declaring the Centre officially open, Gaelic Broadcaster,
Catherine MacDonald said that what struck her most was
the amount the Islanders had raised themselves towards
the project. She added "It's a success story which
should act as to encouragement to other communities
Islanders had always prided themselves of their Community
spirit was a remarkable example of such spirit ".
Following
the official opening a magnificent buffet was prepared
by volunteer ladies of the community. Guests included
residents of the local community, project contractors,
private sponsors and public agency officials, including
Mr Donald MacAulay, Chief Executive of Western Isles
Enterprise who also paid tribute to the hard work grad
"sacrificial giving" of the islanders themselves. Ile
said "What the Islanders of Scalpay have achieved
is truly remarkable. 'they have shown dedication, persistance
and no little ingenuity in raising this enormous sum.
For 30 years the residents of Scalpay battled away but
got to the point where the existing building has to
be shut down and now a magnificent new structure has
arisen from the ashes of the old. "
Towards
the end of 1993 the Management Committee were both humbled
and honoured on learning that the Community Centre had
won a major national honour, sharing a prize in the
1993 Community Enterprise Awards.
As
joints winners of the Community Buildings and Facilities
category, supported by the Prince of Wales' Institute
of Architecture, the Scalpay Community Centre was judged
one of the three most imaginative and successful community-led,
development projects in the UK out of a record entry
of 387 projects who entered the competition.
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