President’s Medal 2017 awarded to Robin and Sheila Strain

The SOA President’s Medal for 2017 was awarded to Robin and Sheila Strain at the AGM on 20th May, for their invaluable contributions at events over many years and particularly their involvement with the introduction and use of electronic punching.

The invaluable volunteer contributions from Robin and Sheila to so many events across Scotland over so many years is much appreciated by us. They have been involved with the introduction and, now, routine use of electronic punching since the 1990s, particularly the SportIdent system. There have been significant developments in the systems, which Robin and Sheila have managed, most recently the introduction of contactless punching. These milestones have not been without their teething troubles requiring work-arounds which Robin and Sheila have implemented from time to time to save the day. Importantly, they have also tutored and mentored numerous volunteers to operate the systems for their own clubs, thereby ensuring that there is a sustainable community of members who are able to manage electronic punching at their club events.

With so many of us indebted to them for their help over what is now about 20 years, I was delighted to award the President’s Medal for 2017 to Robin and Sheila.