Drawing on my good luck, I blindly picked Asheville, North Carolina for a first meeting place.  Why?  Because it was sort of centrally located among the respondents and the new board members and on the weekend I selected in July the annual Grandfather Mountain Scottish Gathering would be held a few miles up the Blue Ridge Parkway.  My son and I had rented a tent and contracted for space and there is where the Dalzell Clan first planted its colors amid other cland in North America. 

     The initial meeting in July 1999 went well.  What a thrill to meet "cousins" from many states and countries for the very first time.  We had about 30-40 enthusiastic people there and we immediately bonded and will be friends forever  We met at the same place for a couple of years before going elsewhere. 

     Because of other commitments, I resigned as Chairman of the Board and they elected my son, John to that job.  I was immensely pleased, however, that the board saw fit to elect me the clan's Acting Chief, an honor I will always cherish and a title I hope some day will be officially approved by the Lord Lyon of Arms. 

     John has since passed the chairmanship along to J. Gordon (Gord) Dalziel.  Board Members are elected annually at the DFANA General Meeting. 

     I feel that DFANA is well entrenched today though our numbers are small.  It has fulfilled a long desire for me to learn more about my ancestry and I was pleased to learn it is an honorable name in which we all can take a large measure of pride.