From the Treasurer...
Cindy Pass, AMEA Treasurer Avoid the Wait!
Do you hate waiting? I hate waiting. I hate waiting for payday. I hate waiting for the inevitable shock of rising gas prices. I hate waiting for the music I ordered to arrive. BUT - YOU DON’T HAVE TO WAIT to pre-register for the upcoming AMEA In- Service Conference!
You can save time and money by registering online NOW or by sending in your completed registration form before January 1. Then you don’t have to wait to register when you arrive at the conference
- just zip over to the pre-registered desk and pick up your packet and GO! So avoid the wait - and save a few bucks for gas or new music - Register now and join or renew your MENC membership online TODAY!
Registration Tips:
Read all forms carefully for changes from previous years.
Check that your bookkeeper mails your pre-registration form to the correct address located on the form.
Make sure you pre- register BEFORE Jan. 1.
Join MENC or renew
your membership BEFORE coming to the conference!
Enclose a copy of your MENC card or verification of your current membership status with your pre-registration form.
If you need a receipt for pre-registration before the conference, email me at
cpass@cullmancats.net.
Reflections on the Value of Attending a National Conference Moya Nordlund, Associate Professor and CMENC Advisor, Samford University
The thrill of first time attendance at a MENC national conference is analogous to going to FAO Schwarz, or Disney World for the first time, only better. One comes away with more than just memories, but practical solutions to real problems, and a host of useful ideas one hasn’t even thought about. Over the past decade, I was able to persuade quite a few students to come with me to the biannual MENC conferences, including ones held in Kansas City, Nashville, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and Milwaukee.
Attendance for
students were never free; even with creative fund raising, most students still had to fork out what amounted to a fortune in a student’s budget. So is it worthwhile? The overwhelming response I have found is “Yes, and I can’t wait to start teaching.” Not only do students get a glimpse of our macrocosmic profession, they return with a renewed sense of calling and passion. What is it that makes conferences attractive and valuable to students? First of all, it is the sense of excitement and camaraderie generated from the never- ending concerts.
Then there are sessions
where one gets cutting-edge information and research findings pertaining to every possible issue in regard to music education, not to mention the many workshops and reading sessions in which one receives free music and “stuff.” And then there are the merchants’ display of the newest gadgetry – from computer software
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to instruments and printed curricular materials, to information on tours and fund raising possibilities, and yes, there are usually more give-aways. Last but not least is the opportunity to network among peers and to be in the presence of some of the greatest music educators who ever walked the earth, and often over finger food and soft drinks.
With so many sessions and concerts in so many venues, it can be overwhelming. So it is not a matter of where do we start but how do we start.
students and I will pour over the handbook.
sessions going on at the same hour that we want to attend, we had to strategize. We often resort to the tactic of “divide and conquer,” promising each other that we will share what we learn in the various sessions. We will meet back up for general sessions or exhibits, but otherwise everyone will be on a mission. Occasionally we explore the cities we visit, such as the trip to the Winter Olympic ski slopes up the mountains in Salt Lake City.
Our trips to these After registration, the As there are always multiple
conferences always culminate with a “show and tell” meeting for our CMENC chapter. As for me, I always return with greater appreciation of my students.
The 2008 MENC National Conference in Milwaukee was my first national conference experience. I felt like a kid in a candy store when I entered the exhibit hall! There were so many great teaching resources right there at my fingertips! I really enjoyed the reading sessions, and was able to collect many pieces that I will be able to use with my choir one day. It was great to meet fellow future music educators, as well as learn helpful tips from the more seasoned music educators. The entertainment provided at the general sessions was inspirational, and the performers at the evening concerts displayed impeccable musicianship. I will never forget this experience!
Rachel Holland, CMENC, Samford University
The MENC National Conference of 2008 was definitely a memorable one for me. My first national conference was in 2006 in Salt Lake, and while it was a great experience, I was only a freshman at the time and it was a little overwhelming, considering how little I knew about music education. Milwaukee's conference opened many new doors for me, including the possibility of teaching abroad once I finish my undergraduate degree. I spoke with many representatives of different groups about this possibility that I had never considered before. It made me realize that with a future as a music educator, I am not limited to a classroom in Shelby County -- I have opportunities worldwide to shape the lives of children with music. Lindsey Folsom, CMENC, University of Montevallo
August 2008
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