A tragedy-hit Moray piping festival has appointed a new chairman to champion the bash into a brighter future.
Businessman Alan James has assumed the helm of Piping at Forres, and said this year’s event would be held in tribute to two founding fathers who died within months of each other.
Festival leader David Urquhart lost his battle with cancer late last year, and chairman Ian Widdowson died last month after a car crash.
Mr James, who owns AJ Engineering, has been appointed as new chairman of Forres Events Ltd – the group that has organised the hugely popular festival since it began in 2013.
The news comes as organisers of the European Pipe Band Championship competition announced it was worth £1.3million the local economy.
Mr James is now keen to build on that success, and said: “Ian Widdowson left some large shoes to fill, but he was always keen that Piping At Forres should be a blueprint for all to follow, and this year’s event will be a testament to his and David Urquhart’s legacy.
“Whilst this is principally about the best piping in Europe, to be a continuing success we have to bring in new ideas and to have something for everyone.”
Mr James began his career in 1970 as an apprentice fabricator welder working at Forres’s William Reid Engineering.
He worked on projects including London’s Paddington Station and Canary Wharf, before forming AJ Engineering and Construction Services Ltd in 1999.
He was part of a team of local business leaders that campaigned to bring Piping at Forres to the town’s Grant Park, and became a director last November.
Forres Events Ltd member, Joanna Taylor, said Mr James had “Forres at his heart”.
Mr Urquhart, former managing director at Gordon and Macphail, died at the age of 63 in December.
He used his influence to boost Moray’s economy, and devoted his final years to helping expand Piping at Forres.
Mr Widdowson ran a travel agency on the town’s High Street with his wife Fiona, and helped locals organise holidays for almost 20 years.
The 59-year-old died following a smash between two Volkswagen Polos outside Kinloss on New Year’s Day.
The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) has approved plans for the bash to remain in Forres until at least 2018. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, June 25.