The Piping Life
This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Greenwood, Nova Scotia to work with the 14 Wing CFB Greenwood Pipe Band. The band is run by Pipe Major Scott Pollen, who started his career in piping with the Kamsack, SK Air Cadet Unit. He learned pipes from Prince Albert resident Dave Monette, and later from the Yorkton & District Pipe Band. I first ran into Scott when he was about 16, and I heard him play solos at the Brandon Games, and asked Brian Fraser [our bass drummer, who lived in Yorkton, just south of Kamsack] who was the kid from Kamsack who could play so well. Scott ended up joining the CRPB, and got leave from cadet camp to attend Maxville with the pipe band. Scott played off and on with the band for a couple of years, and came back for a summer season in 2002 to play with the band. All the while, he continued with cadet piping, reserve pipe bands, and eventually was given the opportunity to join the regular forces, where he received training and passed his pipe major's training course. Now, Scott is a full-time Canadian Forces pipe major. He organizes and trains the 14 Wing Pipe Band, and fulfills other training and performance duties in the local community and with the Canadian Forces. The 14 Wing band performs at various tattoos and at events across Atlantic Canada and beyond.

It was great to get out there to work with Scott's band, and to see the work he is doing for piping in that part of the world. As you would expect of someone dedicated enough to be the only cadet piper in Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Scott has thrown himself into the role, and has a professional looking and great sounding band going there, with a strong group of mostly civilian volunteers.

One of the disappointments of running a band like the CRPB is when people move on, and one of the great satisfactions is when you see them succeeding with new piping challenges. Most of us don't get the chance to turn our passion for piping and pipe bands into a full-time occupation, so it's very cool to see Scott's full-time piping life in the military.