Could you please explain this... "I will be going to the Highland Games at Alma, MI, to man the Clan Boyd Society, International tent, along with Richard G. Boyd and others.  This should be the first games under this re-formed Society." What is this "re-formed Society" and what is the state of the House of Boyd Society (HoBS)?  HoBS is asking me to renew my membership and I wonder if I should. Bruce Boyd St. Louis, Missouri

Bruce At the October 2019 Election, the HBS only had 135 members, including life members. In 2017 elections there were 151 members able to vote and back in 2004, there were 400 members of HBS. Mrs Lauren McLachlan (and her various other married names), has been President since 1998, and has told members that she “knows” how to run the Society, but in 2016 at the AGM at Loon Mountain, NH, when a member from Texas asked her where the Audit report was she brushed him aside. Again he ask at the AGM in 2017 at Glasgow, KY. Only this time with more determination he questioned her over no Audit report as required by the Society BY-LAWS – which are on the website. We has never had an Auditor listed on the website or in Dean Road. At the AGM at Salt Lake City Utah in June 2019, my 11th AGM and LAST, it was the 11th time that no Audit report was tabled at the AGM as required. Mrs McLachlan and her Secretary told the AGM that they had lost a number of Life Members contact details, but that never went into to minutes published in Dean Road. And as a consequence, the claim that the HBS is an Non-Profit organised is not valid. A number of people in late 2019, looked at the IRS website and could not find the House of Boyd Society listed under any other combination of the name. This would be due to no Audit report of the Society for the 12 years that I was an Executive Board Member. Nor does she get the Boards approval to spend ANY of the Society’s money. Not once in my 12 years on the Board were any money approved for payment to anyone that is required by the BY-Laws. But most of the membership money goes to allowing Mrs Lachlan to go to about 10 Scottish Games in Northern California. I think that there are about 6 other Boyd tents held each year at Washington, Michigan, and CT. And the Executive Board is only told what Mrs McLachlan only wants them to know and everything can only sent to her and not the whole Board members. At the Salt lake and Stone Mountain AGM’s some of the few members there pointed out that Mrs McLachlan has control issues when it came to running the HBS. And in 2018 and 2019 she removed an executive Board member each year that questioned her running of the Society. In January 2019, I asked her to put on the next Board meeting that the Society appoint an Auditor, but she did not call any meeting until August 2019, after I have sent in my nomination for the 2019 Election, the following day draft ballot was sent out to fill the four positions up for election, without my name on it. It seems that the whole election procedures that the Executive Board should have done (and had not done for about 10 years) were by-passed, and only candidates nominated by her were allowed to go on the Ballot. In recent years, a number of people wrote to me about their Boyd family branch told me that Mrs McLachlan had removed them from both the [email protected] net list of the Boyd facebook page that she also controlled. And she even blocked me from answering people’s queries on this site since May 2019. But they still seem to send me query’s and request about their Boyd family. At least now that rootsweb.com is shutting down, we will not have to worry about her blocking people to rootsweb.com And as a result of my not being allowed to be put on the Ballot paper for the 2019 elections, a new Boyd facebook page was started in September 2019 not control by Mrs McLachlan This new Boyd Facebook page is called “Clan Boyd Family.” And the URL for the Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2129188920708821/ And when Rootsbweb.com announced in January that they will close down all the sites, Colin Brooks (Email [email protected]) [ a non HBS member] started up a new Boyd group at CLANBOYD-HOB.groups.io which she has no control over. No one knows how many Boyds or Boyd descendants there are in the world, but after 28 generations since 1111 A. D., this number could be a few hundred thousand people. So, no Mrs McLachlan does not REPRESENT ALL OF CLAN BOYD, as she likes to claim. I am aware of two other active Boyd Societies, that represent Cadet Boyd branches. And both would have many more than 135 members. In fact my own Boyd branch in Australia, in July 2019, held our 4th family reunion and had 210 people attend and we could not find a number of branches to advise them of this event. So Richard G Boyd (Email [email protected]) and myself, will act as co-chairs for about a year to form a steering group to re-establish Clan Boyd Society International, that is controlled by the members and for the members and not for a single person running an “ponzi” scheme I would hope that you could be one of the 10 to 20 people that could from this steering committee. Bruce I would not re-new your subscription to HBS. And if I was still a Life member, I would be writing to the HBS Executive Board members – collectively so Mrs McLachlan can’t ignore your request – that they refund your $ 300 Life Membership. But on 26 November 2019, I was expelled from the Society after 27 years of helping people find their Boyd families because I asked the President to follow the Society BY-LAWS. The meeting was called about “Disorder”, but nothing was provide before the meeting as to what this “disorder” problem was. I even went an hour and half away to my daughters house, so I could ensure that I could get onto the phone number provide. We tied two phones without success and within an hour, and sent 2 Emails, I was expelled when Mrs McLachlan should have been removed from her position as Chairman for FRAUD. In 2010, I Ioaned the Society $US 1,000 so an trust fund could be set up TO PURCHASE SHIRTS. At the time we only had a few hundred dollars in the Bank. And again in 2011, when President wanted to get DNA testing of Dr Robin Boyd, Lord Alistair’s next brother, son – Simon Boyd – so there was an control DNA sample to compare all other Boyds – I gave her another $US 1,000 so the Society could pay for a DNA test for Simon Boyd. As far as the Executive Board knowns this testing never took place. But out of this money I also had an DNA test undertaken. However, it was not until mid 2019, that I learnt by accident, that my DNA results were going to Mrs McLachlan and not to mine Email address. But as yet none of these monies have been returned to me. Mike Boyd Clan Boyd society International Brisbane, Aust. ([email protected]) From: Bruce Boyd Sent: Sunday, 1 March 2020 11:48 PM To: [email protected]; Mike Boyd Subject: Re: [CLANBOYD] Mike Boyd’s trip to the USA in May/June 2020 Could you please explain this... "I will be going to the Highland Games at Alma, MI, to man the Clan Boyd Society, International tent, along with Richard G. Boyd and others.  This should be the first games under this re-formed Society." What is this "re-formed Society" and what is the state of the House of Boyd Society (HoBS)?  HoBS is asking me to renew my membership and I wonder if I should. Bruce Boyd St. Louis, Missouri