LionHeart kicks off 125th anniversary year
LionHeart has kicked off its 125th year of supporting surveyors with an event held at the RICS offices in Edinburgh.
Trustees are in the Scottish capital for a quarterly board meeting and invited regional RICS representatives and members to join a celebration to mark the beginning of LionHeart's milestone anniversary year.
LionHeart chair Peter McCrea FRICS welcomed guests including former long-serving LionHeart trustees, ambassadors and other key supporters to a small reception event kindly supported by the RICS Scotland Board.
We were also delighted to welcome property professional Shaun Vigers, the great great grandson of LionHeart founder Robert Vigers. Robert, as outgoing president of the RICS in 1899, made an initial donation of £500 - worth at least £50,000 today - to establish the creation of an independent charity for chartered surveyors which would be managed by a separate body of trustees.
The Vigers' family connection with LionHeart and the RICS would continue for generations; in 2021, Shaun's father James, who had been a lifelong supporter of LionHeart, left a generous legacy in his will to help continue the work begun by his great great grandfather.
Thanking those present for their support of LionHeart over the years, Peter said: "I am particularly touched that Robert Vigers' great great grandson, Shaun, and his wife Maria have been able to join us to kick off our anniversary year.
"I've told you a little bit tonight about some of the people we help and the difference our wonderful staff make to them at such difficult times in their lives. But of course, helping people in such a tailored and comprehensive way costs money. So if I can extract one promise from you all this evening, it is to continue to spread the word about us, to support our fundraising efforts, and to make your annual donations to LionHeart wherever possible.
"As we mark a long and proud history tonight it is also with one eye on supporting the surveyors of the future, too, and continuing the legacy of LionHeart."
Congratulating LionHeart on its 125th anniversary, Sandra Cummings, current chair of the RICS Scotland board, presented Peter with a special bottle of whisky, part of a batch bottled to mark RICS 150th anniversary in 2018.
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