​Association Members are encouraged to contribute articles that they believe would be interesting and newsworthy to other members of Clan Sinclair USA for our YOURS AYE newsletter.  Please contact our Clan Sinclair USA YOURS AYE Editor, Alta Jean Ginn, for more information. 

​August 1, 2018 - Ward L. Ginn, Jr (80)
Ward “Bud” Ginn served as Editor of the Yours Aye newsletter, Clan Historian, and Clan Commissioner for Virginia. At the Clan Sinclair International Gathering in Edinburgh in August 2017, Bud, even though he wasn’t in attendance, received “The Chief’s Collar” award. This was presented to Bud to recognize his outstanding service and the continued excellence in Bud’s many roles within the Association. He not only set the bar of performance high but continued to exceed these excellent standards. Clan Sinclair Association (USA) was indeed fortunate to have someone of his caliber in these capacities.
Bud joined Clan Sinclair USA in July 1997. As an interesting aside, it was somewhat of a stretch for Bud to qualify for membership. His surname was not Sinclair and he had no Sinclairs close to him in his family tree. To make the necessary connection, he had to trace a particular family line on his mother’s side back 20 generations to Mary Sinclair, the ninth daughter of Prince Henry Sinclair who married Sir Thomas de Sumerville. Though he had to travel a long distance in time to find a Sinclair in his family genealogy, Bud took great pride that the connection is with one of the clan’s most illustrious members.
In the 21 years that he has been a member, Bud has been actively involved in clan activities in several different capacities. Initially, he along with Tom and Shelagh Sinclair assisted Virginia Commissioner Susan Green Grady, hosting tents at various venues in Northern Virginia. In early 2000, Bud was appointed Commissioner in Virginia, a post he shared with Alison Sinclair Lawrence. Bud and Tom also represented Clan Sinclair as Commissioner for Maryland, hosting tents at several festivals and games in the Washington area. In Virginia and Maryland, Clan Sinclair had the reputation as being the “friendly clan.”
In March 2002, Bud was appointed to the position of Historian to replace Laurel Fechner who resigned her position for health reasons. As Historian, he undertook a number of initiatives to heighten the awareness of fellow clansmen of the clan’s rich history. Among these was Bud’s efforts to make accessible at a nominal cost, a number of historical works about the clan’s history previously-out-of- print and unavailable. To this end, he made electronic copies of The Saint-Clairs of the Isles and The Sinclair Family of Virginia in CD format. He also edited and compiled descriptive accounts of Rosslyn Chapel and Castle in CD and in hardcopy. Bud and his son, Bryan made a video of the 2005 International Clan Gathering in Scotland in DVD format. During the past eight years, Bud has been a frequent contributor of articles to the newsletter Yours Aye, many having to do with the history of the ancient family of Sinclairs in Scotland. He also authored a number of brochures for use by the Association’s commissioners, including several in response to all the publicity concerning the Clan’s connections to the DaVinci Code plot. Given his long professional career as a legal writer, Bud’s historical research was fact based, leaving no room for speculation. His work included research regarding the clan’s connections to Freemasonry and the Knights Templar.
In early 2003, Bud was appointed Editor of Clan Sinclair USA’s newsletter Yours Aye upon the resignation of the previous editor. The newsletter for the second quarter of 2018 was the fifty-eighth newsletter that he published with help from his wife, “Assistant AJ”.
Bud and his wife, Alta Jean, attended clan gatherings at Stone Mountain, Grandfather Mountain, Loon Mountain, hosted the 2013th AGM at The Plains, Virginia and as well attended the International Gatherings held in Scotland in 2000 and 2005.

Newly posted under HISTORY is the article  "Origins of the Sinclairs in Scotland"  written by our Chief,  Lord Caithness.
His message to us reads:
​
Dear all
 
Last year George Sinclair in Canada started to revise the literature about the clan which was displayed at the Highland Games and on our websites. He sought my thoughts and it was to be my winter project but became my summer one! I now attach what I have written. It is not in the format of the Games literature but I hope it will help you update what you have. 
 
Best wishes
 
Malcolm