Both current and past colleagues, volunteers, Board members and friends of Lomond and Argyll Advocacy Service were devastated to hear of the passing of our General Manager, Scott Rorison two weeks ago. Many will attend at the Cardross Crematorium tomorrow to pay their respects and say a fond farewell and we share our thoughts with you on a fine man who changed lives throughout Lomond and Argyll in the past twenty one years.
Lomond and Argyll Advocacy Service.
Tribute to our dear friend, colleague and inspiration, Scott Rorison.
In 2000 a significant career move for Scott was destined to change the lives of thousands of people in Lomond and Argyll over the next twenty one years. Scott was appointed as the first General Manager of a local Advocacy Service tasked with establishing a service to cover all of West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute. Initially he worked under the auspices of Alzheimer Scotland and two years later he registered Lomond and Argyll Advocacy Service as a Company and a Charity and he remained Company Secretary until his untimely passing.
Scott’s energy and drive, plus his genuine belief in social justice, affording people respect and a voice to improve their own situation, or challenge unfair decisions made for or about them, quickly made him a well known and respected figurehead as he set about creating an organisation from an empty office in Dumbarton Road to one that helped thousands of clients over the next two decades and created advocates from lay persons whom he trained and inducted into thinking about what advocacy should mean in a socially just and equitable society.
He recruited a raft of wise, fair, and influential people who were drawn to work with this charismatic leader, many of whom went on to become Board members with LAAS, a task they never dreamed they would one day be doing, but who said no to a tap on the shoulder from Scott? Staff readily joined the organisation, most of them staying for many years, mainly because they found Scott a committed and considerate Operations Manager of a respected and developing organisation but also that they were proud to be part of changing lives in the ways that he suggested as he led the team to show that what was considered impossible in 2000, that the voice of the vulnerable would and must be heard, became reality in Lomond and Argyll as client after client was given a voice by Scott’s team.
Scott was recognised across Scotland as the voice of Advocacy, a true warrior for the vulnerable, and he jumped at every opportunity to promote the concept of advocacy and to convert many to share in his mission. Lomond and Argyll Advocacy is the only Independent Advocacy Organisation in Scotland to have a published book (Speaking To Power) in print, and included in Academic Reading Lists due to the inspiring shared principles, intellect, and outlook of Scott Rorison and the late inimitable Professor Emeritus David Donnison with whom Scott shared a strong and significant bond.
He was never prouder than when we accompanied a group from our Changed Days project on a day trip to Edinburgh as they had been invited to the Scottish Parliament by Jackie Baillie MSP. Scott sat in the Chamber of Scotland’s own Parliament and watched as they asked questions and discovered again that everything is possible if you have someone who will help you to speak out. No one commented on Scott’s moist eyes as he enjoyed all the emotions that the day evoked, he loved every minute of it. When told that Scott has passed away one of our Good Life Members reminded everyone that “Scott was one of the ones who got us started, and always told us we are the voice of experience that people should listen to”.
Scott was a dedicated manager with an enviable reputation across Health Boards, Local Authorities, Local Government, and a valued member of many and various Committees. Staff have paid tribute to the man who let them get on with the job, boosting their self- confidence in doing so, but always there to encourage them to go the extra mile for the clients and be sure that you are always doing your best for them. No wonder our local advocacy service has gained a reputation for care, compassion and achievement over the last twenty one years when it was led by a man of such stature and empathy for the human race.
There was the also the other side of Scott too as he was also one of the most talented and funny individuals most of us have known. Staff and Board meetings were never dull, there was always time for a laugh and enjoyment of Scott’s reflections on life and this of course one of the ways he was able to build a loyal team around him who would have done anything to help him achieve his clearly defined ambitions for the organisation. In the past year the fifteen staff who now work for the service helped 1150 clients across a huge geographical area, a remarkable achievement for the man who had been there from day one.
Comments and memories from now influential MSPs and Ministers concur that in days past and more recent too, he could always regale a company with funny stories and scenarios (interspersed with giggles), and inevitably quote his hero Rabbie Burns to enthral anyone in the vicinity-and of course, his exceptional Tam O’Shanter will live with all of us who had the joy of witnessing it forever, no one ever will lay claim to “Tam O’Shanter” like Scott Rorison, truly legendary, enthralling and amazing.
Another Burns’ piece which resonated and was recited with such emotion by Scott, was ‘A Man’s A Man’ – never a dry eye in the house after such his perfect and heartfelt rendition which also summed up him as a man-as was evidenced last year when he translated the entire Article 1 of The Declaration of Human Rights into Scots. In December 2020 during lockdown, whilst uncertainty, fear, death, and division filled the news, Scott Rorison occupied that fair, clever, and caring soul of his by producing an amazing piece of work, A Reproduction of Article 1 of The Declaration of Human Rights in the Scots Tongue. Scott’s sense of Social Justice and patriotism printed in a nutshell – an amazing legacy.
In the past two decades Scott has touched and changed the lives of many individuals in this area and everyone, past and present, connected with Lomond and Argyll Advocacy Service has been shocked and devastated by his passing and the organisation is still reeling from losing the heart and soul of our service.
One of our volunteers and personal friend of Scott summed up all our thoughts on this very special man with whom we have had the privilege to work, laugh and play over many years as he wrote, “Scott’s loss is a huge blow to an essential service that works doggedly in the background providing a voice for the most vulnerable members of society, many with nowhere else to turn to. He was a trusted friend and colleague, a dedicated and resourceful mainstay who could think on his feet and whose opinions were respected throughout the professional social services network. Social justice was his passion and the works of Robert Burns his poetic touchstone — his renowned Tam O’Shanter performances the unbounded personification of his infectious, couthy Borders wit and humour.”
Twenty one years on and the world is a better place after Scott made his mark on it in so many ways and everyone at Lomond and Argyll Advocacy Service is determined to ensure that his legacy in the form of this highly respected and successful charity will continue its work and always strive to do its best for future clients as we have under the leadership of an outstanding and much loved colleague, friend, mentor and inspiration – we will miss him terribly but we will never forget our soulmate. Rest in peace dear man.
