Jack attends St Andrew’s Society gala dinner

Media House International Chairman Jack Irvine attends the St Andrew’s Society Gala Dinner in New York

Jack has been on the gala committee of the society for the past four years and is an integral part of the team who nominate honourees.

This year four people were honoured:

Hugh Grant, Chairman and CEO of Monsanto Company was presented with the Global Man of the Year award and Lady Susan Rice, CBE received the Global Woman of the Year award. Lady Rice is Chair of Scottish Water, Chair of the Scottish Fiscal Commission and President of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry.

The Society also decided to add two new awards.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde, received the Entrepreneurial Leadership Award in Science and Technology.

Dr Fiona Kennedy OBE, DL, the singer, producer and philanthropist, was awarded the Cultural Heritage Award.

Jack met a fascinating cross -ection of New York society and into the bargain sat beside the effervescent Kate Perkins. Second Secretary for Scottish Affairs at the British Embassy in Washington and Delancy Johansson, former special adviser to Alex Salmond and now Chief of Staff at DFC Global Corp in Philadelpia.

In addition to raising funds for the St Andrew’s Society of the State of New York, proceeds from the gala will go to New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Yorkhill Children’s Charity which sits firmly at the heart of the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

Ann Gloag, OBE, the UK’s most successful businesswoman, and the first honouree of the society in 2013, also attended the dinner with members of her family and Lois Boyle, Director of Operations and Communications at the Gloag Foundation (and a graduate of the Media House School of Excellence!).

The following evening, Jack headed downtown to the Village East Theatre on Second Avenue to attend the premiere of Shout Gladi Gladi – the full-length film funded by Ann Gloag to highlight the work of the Freedom from Fistula Foundation.

A debate took place afterwards about the work being done in Africa and Jack waded in about the abuses of African diplomats who had been attending the UN earlier in the week. His attack, which was warmly welcomed by the audience, was totally vindicated the following day when it was revealed that the Malawi Government who had been scheduled to come to New York with nine delegates actually turned up with 115!

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