About
Letter from the President
Greetings,
One of the most important aspects of our association is communication. As you start the year I want to remind you of the first SCBDA meeting of the year. This will be held on Saturday, September 10 at Ridge View High School. This meeting is an opportunity to share ideas with colleagues, discuss the coming events of the 2011-2012 school year, plan and discuss committee events, and to become a voice within our association.
A major change for this year will be how we will select our percussionists for the region and all-state bands. This is due to the proposal that was passed last year. We will discuss the procedures for this in detail and have a live demonstration during the General Directors Meeting. Also during the general meeting we will unveil the newly revised Band Link website. As you may know by now, Jeff and Donna Thompson are no longer running the website and the executive board decided to update the software and systems to serve the association even better.
Fall Meeting Schedule
SCBDA Executive Board 9:00 am
Committee Meetings 10:30 am
New Members Meeting 1:00 pm
General Directors Meeting 2:00 pm
Marching Band Draw following general meeting
Committee meetings will begin at 10:30am. Even if you are not on a committee you are welcome to attend them and begin to find a place to serve. At 1:00pm, we will have an orientation meeting for all new band directors. This is a great opportunity for all first year teachers or directors that are new to South Carolina to find out important information and obtain a mentor that will help guide you through your first year. At 2:00pm, the general meeting will begin and the committee chairmen will present their reports. After the general meeting, the marching committee will have the drawing for the performance order of our preliminary marching band championships/festivals.
Directors are encouraged to continue to be informed of our state’s budgets and policies concerning education and anything specifically involving the arts. Become a voice within your community to help articulate why your program is essential. The past few years have been difficult ones for many schools and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Remember those that speak the loudest and the most will be heard. Those that don’t will be left to wonder what happened.
I want to remind all directors they must be members of NAfME (formerly MENC) to participate in SCBDA events. If you are not a member of NAfME yet, you need to visit the website, www.menc.org. You also need to enter or update your school information into the Band Link database. You must do this to be able to register for all the SCBDA events. The link is www.scbda.org/directory/login.asp.
The SCBDA is a great organization and I feel privileged to serve as your President. I urge you to get involved and help run your association. If I can be of any support to you, please contact me. Have a great year and remember that Music IS Instrumental to Success!
I look forward to seeing all of you at the meeting this at Ridge View on September 10.
Musically,
Joe Meshach, President
South Carolina Band Directors Association
