Chieftain of the Day

The Chieftain of the Day is chosen as someone who has made a significant contribution of preserving the Portland Highland Games through the years. They will be presented and honored during the welcoming ceremonies at the Games. The Chieftain of the Day represents the spirit of keeping the traditions of Highland heritage in our community.

Colin MacKenzie & Bonnie Heather Blyth MacKenzie

It is with great pleasure that the Portland Highland Games Association honors Colin and Bonnie MacKenzie as Chieftains of 2011 Games. Their long involvement with the Games began with their parents, Duncan and Jo MacKenzie and Bob and Dorothy Blyth, Chieftain in 1993. Bonnie and Colin continued the family tradition of involvement in the Scottish community through piping and Highland dance. They have actively contributed to the Portland Highland Games as competitors, volunteers and officers.

As Colin and Bonnie were growing up, the Clan MacLeay Pipe Band played a big role in their lives. In 1957, Bonnie was appointed Dance Sergeant and became the only female member of this all male pipe band organization. Colin became Pipe Sergeant in 1965 and played many a parade with the band and with his father as Pipe Major. Colin’s grandfather, Hugh MacKenzie, had been the first Band Manager in the 30’s and Bonnie’s father had also been Band Manager. Bonnie and Colin married in 1967.

Colin began taking piping lessons from his father at the age of nine. His subsequent teachers were Chester MacNeill, 1st President of the Portland Games, Ron Forman and Andrew Wright from Scotland. Bonnie started first dancing at age seven with Helen Paterson Griffith and then committed to go to Canada for lessons with Sheila McGillivray and Ella Gallagher. Each had early success in competition: Bonnie won the Oregon Only dance competition at the 1957 Portland Highland Games and Colin won the Medallion for Piobaireachd at the 1974 Coeur d’Alene Piping School, which included a trip to Scotland to compete at the Cowal Highland Games.

Colin was a founding member and Pipe Major of the Blue Heron Bay Pipe Band, one of the first Grade 1 pipe bands in the United States. He also played with Abbottsford Police Pipe Band in British Columbia for six years and twice traveled with the band to compete at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow. Colin is a BCPA certified piping judge and thus can be seen judging at many Games and piping competitions throughout the Northwest.

Bonnie began teaching when she was thirteen and in 1965 became a member of the Highland Branch of the British Association of Teachers of Dance. In 1990, she was honored as a Life Member and went to Scotland to accept this recognition. The MacKenzie Dance Academy became known for her choreography, as she created intricate dances for forty or more dancers while maintaining the tradition of Highland dance. Bonnie’s joy is her students. In addition to teaching them the discipline of the sport, she imparts valuable life lessons. Her students have applied this discipline to become doctors, nurses, teachers, psychologists, working in politics, government, creative arts, and even becoming Highland dance teachers.

Colin and Bonnie have two daughters, Holly MacKenzie Kelly and Shona MacKenzie, both Highland dancers. Holly had success in the US Inter-Regional Championships and Shona became a tenor drummer playing with Abbottsford Police, Simon Fraser University and now Portland Metro Pipe Band. Grandson, Torrin, plays the pipes with Portland Metro Youth Pipe Band and grandson, Brennan, is an aspiring drummer.

Colin and Bonnie have taught and mentored numerous students and many have achieved success in competition and won championships. Notably, Jori Chisholm, Colin’s student, is a world-class piper and winner of many championships in the US, Canada and Scotland. He plays with the six-time World Champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band. Jori credits Colin for instilling in him the love of piobaireachd. Also, Bonnie’s student, Jocelyn Case, has twice won the US Inter-Regional Championships and has competed at the World Highland Dance Championships in Scotland for the last 10 years, placing each year in the top ten.

Colin and Bonnie MacKenzie’s contribution to the Portland Highland Games in the past 59 years has been immense. Generations of competitors have been touched by Colin and Bonnie and thus they have played a big part in keeping the Portland Highland Games alive. Colin continues teaching piping, composing tunes, performing at events and judging. Bonnie is teaching yet another generation of her former students’ children.

We salute you and thank you for sharing your love of piping and Highland dance with us today.