Adios, Andy!

Farewell to CAN’s Andy Dalzell – one helluva guy!

Friends and colleagues joined Community Action North development worker Andy Dalzell for leaving drinks in The Baillie in Stockbridge last night. The big guy from Philadelphia worked in North Edinburgh for only a few short months – but the genial giant has left his mark.

Andy left Philadelphia to come to Edinburgh in autumn – or Fall, as he’d call it – 2014 to continue his studies, and when he leaves he leaves for home next week he’ll leave us with a host of warm memories.

I first met Andy last year, and was immediately struck by his inquisitive, inquiring mind, his warm openness and a genuine interest in listening to what people have to say. Now, having had the pleasure of working with Andy for six months, those first impressions have been reinforced a hundredfold.

I’ve never met a person so focused and so totally dedicated to the job in hand. He has an incredible work ethic and a phenomenal attention to the minutiae of every task, every small detail. And he didn’t just talk about doing things, he did things.

He has the ability to take setbacks and disappointments in his stride, and he’s very much a ‘glass half full’ kind of guy – although in Andy’s case that glass is filled to the brim with a boundless energy and enthusiasm. A kind of Transatlantic Tigger, if you like!

For me, Andy’s greatest quality is his politeness and old fashioned courtesy, even when dealing with some of the most irritating people you could ever have the misfortune to meet! And I’ve always enjoyed his ‘Americanisms’ – only Andy could talk about the ‘beautification’ of Muirhouse Shopping Centre – and mean it!

But while he works so hard, he’s no robot. He’s not a man driven only by work. He has a broad range of interests and he’s developed a wide group  of friends while he’s been over here with us. He’s the only person from stateside I know who not only understands our version of football, but actually enjoys it too!

Andy will face new challenges when he goes home to Philly. He’ll have to find work, but I can’t imagine that a man with his skills and qualities should have to many difficulties on that front. Finding a place to work that’s quite as picturesque as Pennywell, though – now that’s another challenge!

And Andy and his wife Lindsay will also face a fresh new challenge in the summer when they bring a new baby into the world. And I can tell Andy that, great planner that his is, no amount of planning, no spreadsheets, no Powerpoint presentations or Infographic reports can prepare you for that! Read all the Change Management manuals you want, your lives will be turned upside down – but hopefully in a good way! And knowing you as I do I know you will be a good and caring father, a great parent.

Someone did say that Andy and I were a bit like the Odd Couple. I hard a remark about old married couples recently: lots of niggly arguments over nothing and no sex! Well, Andy and I we never shared a cross word all the time we worked together – and the closest we came to sex was a high-five or an occassional manly hug!

So Andy, I will miss you my friend. Your boundless energy and your enthusiasm. Your spirit and your loyalty and dedication. Your ideas, your drive and your passion. And even your eclectic musical tastes!

You leave our project in good shape and you leave behind many new friends and colleagues who will miss you. You leave a lot of happy memories with us. You leave our community in a better place than you found it, through your efforts. And you also leave with an expanded vocabulary: ‘glaur‘, ‘dreich‘ and ‘mingin’‘ to mention just a few … good luck when you drop some of those into conversations back home!

You achieved so much in such a short space of time – and I can only touch on your activities here in North Edinburgh: I can’t begin to talk about the other activities you were involved in in other parts of the city too.

To say you will be a hard act to follow is a massive understatement – you truly are an impossible act to follow. Pennywell’s loss is Pennsylvania’s gain.

So long, buddy!