Directors, please review the information below concerning the addition of a General Meeting for ALL SCBDA DIRECTORS on September 8, 2018.
Dear Colleagues,
I trust you have had a very successful school year and are ready for a relaxing and much deserved summer break.
As I am sure you are all aware of by now, Dr. David O’Shields, band director at Lexington High School and our President-Elect, decided to retire effective July 1, 2018. Unfortunately, in accordance with our Bylaws, David is ineligible to fulfill his term with the SCBDA. I accepted David’s official letter of resignation and although it saddens me that our association will not benefit directly from his leadership, I am extremely happy for him and certainly wish him all the best.
As we move into summer break, I want to provide some information on the direction we now must take as an association. After consulting our Bylaws, talking at length with our Parliamentarian, seeking the counsel of past presidents, and receiving the approval from the Executive Board, I have come to the decision that our best course of action is to suspend our Bylaws at the September meeting in order to hold a special election for the President-Elect position. This will allow nominations to be made at the Fall meeting and for the membership to vote for their elected representative.
In order to be in compliance with our Bylaws, the Board must grant approval, which they have, and the membership must be notified at least 30 days in advance, which this correspondence addresses (Article XIV, Letters A and B). This means that we WILL have a Fall Meeting and we WILL have a General Meeting to elect a new President-Elect. Needless to say, this meeting and subsequent election are extremely important to the success of our association, so I urge all of you to plan to attend. We are working to create a schedule that will allow for all business, including the draw, to conclude by noon.
From a logistics standpoint, David’s last day is July 1, but until that time, he will continue to work on our upcoming convention. His last “official” responsibility as President-Elect will be to select the performing ensembles and as many clinics as possible for convention. He has already begun this process by appointing members to the Convention Selection Committee, and they have already received the submitted recordings.
I will appoint our Vice President, Joe Gulledge, to continue the work David has started to ensure that our convention plans move forward without a hitch. Joe will assume this role on July 1, and will secure any remaining clinics and handle any logistics that still need attention. Once we have a new President-Elect, that individual will step in and take over convention at that time, along with help from Joe and myself.
Once we finalize a schedule for the Fall Meeting, we will send that out and post it on Bandlink. Please know that your involvement in this association, whether you are a committee member or not, is paramount to the viability of the SCBDA. Your presence at our Fall Meeting is crucial, so I hope that you will make the necessary adjustments to both your personal and professional calendars to be in attendance.
I hope you have an enjoyable summer and I look forward to seeing you all in September!
Leah Cordé
SCBDA President