REPORTER editor Emma Quigley visited the Maid of the Loch last week for the launch of a special poster exhibition.

Since June 2013, the Reporter has been supporting the Maid to Sail campaign with monthly updates in the Reporter.

The Loch Lomond Steamship Company is campaigning to raise £3.3 million to fund a new boiler, repair sections of the pier where the paddle steamer is moored, and also a new visitor centre which will be open all year round.

The Reporter has been charting the campaign since its launch and Emma was joined by John Beveridge and volunteers Jim McGinn and Jacqueline King to view the specially made posters showcasing the Reporter’s support.

John said: “The Reporter has been a brilliant help in promoting the Maid, and in supporting our aim of getting her sailing again.

“These full-size displays of the paper’s actual pages show in dazzling form, our progress over the year.

“We are most grateful to the Reporter, and now all our visitors can see them too.

Emma added: “The Reporter is proud to support the Maid of the Loch campaign and we know how hard working its team of volunteers are.

“We know that the dedication of John and his team of helpers will ensure that the Maid of the Loch is in ship-shape and sailing again as soon as possible.

“It is fantastic to see our pages proudly displayed on board as a record of how far the campaign has come since it was launched and to inform visitors.” Our support for the Maid has also been praised in the Scottish Parliament by Stuart McMillan MSP.

His motion read: “[Parliament] welcomes the efforts of the Dumbarton and Vale Reporter, which has been supportive of the campaign for many years, and considers that such support highlights why regional titles are so important to the communities they serve.” The Maid of the Loch was first launched in 1953 but ceased commercial operations in 1981.