THE PARENTS of a popular member of Scotland’s Rural College staff who died suddenly last summer attended last week’s graduation ceremony to accept a special award posthumously on their son’s behalf.

Andy Drysdale, who worked for SAC Consulting for 14 years and who lived in Lasswade, was just 49 when he collapsed and died while coaching at his son Alex’s football club.

At last Friday’s graduation ceremony in the University of Glasgow’s Bute Hall, he was posthumously awarded the Sir RC Stewart Prize for Consultancy in recognition of his hard work and dedication to SAC Consulting, part of SRUC.

Andy joined what was then the Scottish Agricultural College in 2003 as corporate planning manager, and went on to hold a number of roles within the organisation, most recently as project development executive with SAC Consulting. He was pivotal to the successful bid for the Farm Advisory Service tender and in the early delivery of the programme.

In a citation read during the graduation, SRUC’s Director of Commercialisation, Colin MacEwan, said: “Andy was truly one of the good guys, someone who could be relied on to think about and pass on a considered response. He was widely known throughout SRUC and could knowledgeably speak on a range of issues and how they would impact on Consultancy, in all of its gambits.

“This prize, which is awarded annually, aims to recognise ‘someone who has contributed significantly to the development of consultancy work in SRUC’. This has to be the strapline to what Andy was about. He worked tirelessly, often without recognition, on getting the details right – the things that ultimately got the job done. Without these folk we are all the poorer.”

Andy’s father Dougal said: “It was a very emotional occasion, especially as it’s a year since Andy died. Attending the ceremony brought us into contact with his colleagues, who gave us a different view of his life and his skills we didn’t have before and it’s been quite wonderful.”

His mother Judy said: “It was very special and very moving. We were very honoured to be asked to represent Catriona (Andy’s widow). He was a lovely boy who just went too quickly.”

Andy is survived by Catriona, his daughter Isabel (16) and son Alex (14).