It’s a Continual, Sometimes Slow, Process

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Paul Copenhaver
MMEA President
It’s a Continual, Sometimes Slow, Process

Due to the deadline for the submission of articles for the Missouri School Music magazine, this article is being written prior to our 71st annual MMEA In-Service Workshop/Conference. So, as we anticipate that event, reality suggests it is already time to look forward to the 2010 conference.

Many of you were concerned that online registration for the conference and accompanying pre-sessions never came about. For that we apologize. Due to a number of issues with the previous provider of registration services, it was determined last summer that a change was necessary.

After we selected another company to handle the set up and administration of our online registration, the transition process began. Unfortunately, it was a much slower process that we’d imagined. Because of our affiliation with MENC, registration must be linked to an active MENC membership status. Also, credit card information must be gathered in a manner that is secure to our members and organization, domain registrations verified, and a number of other related items must be considered. Doing these things in a manner that protects our members and our organization, while assembling all of the information we would need for successful online registrations required lots of interaction between MMEA and our service provider. Unfortunately, time just ran out!
However, there’s good news. We should be ready early for next year!!!

The area Vice-Presidents, President-Elect, Past President, Executive Secretary and I will meet at Tan-Tar-A in February for a conference follow-up session. During this meeting we will review the compiled results from the Evaluation Forms that you filled out at the end of our conference. The Vice-Presidents will also report on their clinic and concert sessions in regard to attendance, facilities, quality of the presentations, etc. [Each area Vice-President completes a Clinic Session Data Report, Clinic Session Follow-up Form, and/or Concert Session Data Report for each of their area events.]
Planning will also commence for our 2010 conference. You should realize that planning for our conferences is almost nonstop. I know some of our Vice-Presidents already have clinicians lined up for next year, and most of the clinic sessions for next year’s conference will be set by the end of May.
Anyone wanting to propose a clinic topic or specific session should complete a Clinic Proposal Form, and submit it to the appropriate area Vice-President as soon as possible.
Also, if you have an ensemble you’d like to be considered for a performance slot on next year’s conference, it’s not too early to be planning your application. The MMEA Conference and Clinics Performance Criteria and Application for Performance forms may be found at www.mmea.net.
The entire Board of Directors and Advisory Council will meet in May. This meeting will begin to focus on our 2010 conference, and we begin work on updating our MMEA Strategic Plan, updating our Policy and Procedures Manual, discussing summer meetings, and continuing to look for ways to better serve our members.
This group will again meet in August. By that time the MMEA 72nd Annual In-Service Workshop/Conference will be the highlight of discussion. Bids for recording and photographic services will be accepted, scheduling will begin to be finalized, conductors of those ensembles selected to perform will have their first informational meeting, and reports of summer activities will be made.
The process really is continual. We’re reviewing what we’ve done, planning for the future, and trying to make improvements to our organization all at the same time!