A presentation of a pewter Quaich engraved with a bunch of snowdrops was made to Dougie Gray who has stepped down from the Chair of Keeping Nairnshire Colourful after giving 13 years to enhancing Nairn's floral displays.

He first got involved through his Bed & Breakfast business, when the Green & Beautiful Nairn (GBN) committee had formed prior to Nairn hosting the Walker Cup in 1999. The committee put together a three-year floral and landscaping plan to turn a rather grey and drab Nairn into a colourful town for residents and visitors to enjoy. Dougie was a constant soiurce of ideas for the Committee. Everyone waitied for the moment at AOB of the Agenda for him to say "I've been thinking......." With fellow members of GBN he helped to ensure a wonderful seasonal display each year in beds, tubs and hanging baskets around the town. He also initiated an ambitious plan of tree and bulb planting both in the town and along the approach roads, including bluebells and snowdrops at the Links, more snowdrops along the river, daffodils at Delnies and trees for spring and autumn colour at the Cemtery field.

In 2007 Green & Beautiful Nairn folded as Council funding for continued floral displays declined. Dougie wanted to maintain as much colour in and around the town as possible and make the displays more sustainable. In 2008 he and others formed a Keeping Nairnshire Colourful (KNC) committee with Dougie as the Chairman. Since then Dougie has organised yet more bulb planting; sourcing, lifting and planting many of the bulbs himself: snowdrops along the Achareidh path, daffodils at the approach to Auldearn off the A96 and along the Grantown Road and, more recently, a blue Muscari river at the Cemetery field. 

Last year Dougie and KNC helped a group of Lochloy residents add bulbs to the Kingsteps Quarry in an attempt to make it a nicer area for residents to walk through and enjoy the wildlife. He also started his most ambitious project. With the cutbacks to the Council's budget threatening to grass over some of the seasonal beds, Dougie decided KNC should apply for Lottery funding to put permanent planting into three of the beds along the A96 at Achareidh, and work with volunteers from the town to ensure they were maintained. He also put in a bid to add 108,000 more spring bulbs around the town. The application was successful and in spring 2011 three of the A96 beds were saved and planted up with the help of Nairn & District Gardening Club, the junior section of the Boys' Brigade and Nairnshire Guiding Association. This was followed in the autumn by a marathon of bulb planting. 

Dougie acknowledges that without the help of his fellow committee members, voluntary bodies and members of the public many of these projects could not have been realised but he has been the catalyst and driver, and his 13 years dedication have provided everyone in and around Nairn with continuing colour which should prove a lasting legacy.