It was with the greatest sadness that we learned of the death of Mitch Reid, a great friend of the Press Ball and a long-time supporter of the event.
Skye-born Mitch was known to many across the Highlands and Islands as a reporter with the Press and Journal in the 1970s and 80s and later as a communications manager with BT.
When the Highlands and Islands Press Ball was revived in 1989, BT, under Mitch’s guidance, was one of the original sponsors and remained an important supporter of the event for more than 20 years.
He and his press photographer wife Kate were a mainstay of the Press Ball, and hosted a table of Aberdeen-based journalists each year, until Mitch’s ill health meant he was unable to travel.
That long-running support was crucial to the success and growth of the ball in those early years of revival.
Mitch, who died aged 71, grew up in Kyleakin and excelled as a Gaelic singer.
As a teenager in the 1967 Skye Provincial Mod he finished runner up to Donnie Munro, before winning the James C. MacPhee Memorial Medal for solo singing for boys at the National Mod in Glasgow.
His Pete Best moment came when he turned down the chance to join his Skye school mates in forming a band, prompting them to turn to his Mod rival Donnie Munro to form Runrig.
Instead, Mitch followed his dream to be a writer and in 1974 became a trainee journalist with the Press and Journal based in Aberdeen.
He and his later wife Kate, from Alness, became major figures in the local media scene and their friendship and support helped many young journalists in their early careers.
Mitch spent 16 years as a leading light in the P&J reporting team, including a stint as fishing editor.
After the infamous Aberdeen Journals strike, when he was a stalwart of the picket line, he joined the Scottish press office team at British Telecom, on the day the company changed its name to BT.
For the next 27 years Mitch was the public voice of the organisation, his newspaper background giving him vital insight into combining the demands of PR with the needs of the media.
As well as handling media enquiries with efficiency and professionalism, he was the perfect host on press trips, including a helicopter excursion for the broadband switch-on in Fair Isle, and corporate events like football matches and concerts at Hampden, the Scottish Press Awards and, of course, the Highlands and Islands Press Ball and Media Awards.
We have lost another link to a past era, but, more importantly, an inspirational friend, colleague and supporter.
Our sincere condolences to Kate, Rhianne, Joseph and the wider family.
*Thanks to Bob Dow for his help in putting together this tribute