Volume 1, Number 7 - - June 2003
Salt Lake City -- Region VIII Banquet and Annual Meeting
Region VIII's official "Annual Meeting" will be held at the Convention in conjunction with Tuesday's banquet. In addition to conducting region business, you will get to meet the competition winners, region and chapter officers and the many other members from our Region. Please mark the time! (Note: Region IX will have a separate banquet!)
Dean's Breakfast -- and all that jazz!
In addition to the general meeting, I would like to take all Chapter Dean's out to breakfast! The date will be announced and you will get a message -- perhaps as late as when you pick up your registration packets. If a Dean is *NOT* attending, would they kindly appoint another officer/attendee to represent the chapter, please?
As a gift in support of the convention, Region VIII is sponsoring the final reception on Thursday night with LIVE JAZZ BAND! Please come out and have a good time and help me greet our neighbors to the South and East. Think I'll bring my saxophone!
Convention Progress Report!
Great news! Our convention now has over 510 registered! My money says this will be the best attended convention in the entire country! Nearly one fourth of the registrants are from out of the area (eastern regions)!
Visit the Convention web site for the latest: www.SLCAGO.ORG/index
Pipe Organs on National Public Radio?
AGO Executive Director, James E. Thomashower, writes:
"In case you missed the broadcast of yesterday's [5/4/03] delightful National Public Radio program featuring the sounds of the pipe organ, here is the information and Web link to the story as reported on the air by Bob Edwards. NPR reporter Jim Ward interviewed me by telephone earlier in the week, and that gave me the opportunity to promote the AGO's Pipe Organ Encounters program which was alluded to peripherally in the NPR story, as you can hear. The primary impetus for the story was the recent publication of Craig Whitney's book, All the Stops.
"Craig Whitney, assistant managing editor for The New York Times, shares his life-long passion for the pipe organ. In his travels as a reporter, Whitney has been able to indulge that passion and play organs all over the world. His recently published book, All The Stops, includes a tour of the 4,000-pipe organ in Manhattan's Dominican Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer."
The full story: http://discover.npr.org/rundowns/segment.jhtml?wfId=1286349
Around the Region . . .
(the part of the newsletter where YOU are the news!)
- Anchorage Chapter (801) reports a wonderful website featuring "Organs of Alaska" www.alaska.net/~stmark/alaskaorgans.htm
- Yellowstone Chapter (804)'s "Carillon" announces an organ crawl this past May. Barbara Gulick presented a workshop in April entitled "Healthy Relationships: Church Musicians and the Communities they Serve." A copy of their handouts costs $5.00. Hey, Barbara, are you willing to share with the Region?
- Eugene Chapter (805) was the very first (THANK'S EUGENE) to send in election results, including the completed Officer Report Form! Congratulations to new Dean, Robin High! Welcome to the Region VIII team!
- Portland Chapter's (806) "Prestant" announces Rose Festival Fun. As an adjunct to the famous Rose Parade as it passes First Baptist Church, Portland organists will regale parade-goers with organ classics! Floral parade outside, great organ music inside -- go Phyllis Ernsberger, Dean of Portland Chapter.
- Southern Oregon Chapter (808) will feature Dr. Margaret Evans in a class on "New Organ Music for Worship." (A preview of her workshop for the regional convention!)
- Pullman-Moscow Chapter (811) was the second chapter to send in election results! Congratulations Pullman-Moscow! And to continuing Dean, Mary Carloye.
- Seattle's (812) "Chapter Newsletter" wishes farewell to outgoing dean, Delores Fox. Recovering from surgery, she is looking forward to a move to Las Cruces, near the "Organ Mountains." Can't get away from it, heh? Delores writes: "The Seattle Chapter is a warm, caring and musically involved group."
- Spokane Chapter (813) reports in their newsletter, "Voices," that they sponsored their RCYO chapter competition winner, Aleks Kirillov in a recital at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
- Tacoma Chapter (814) recently sent in their clergy-musician dinner review to our national magazine, The American Organist, page 32, June Edition. Good work, Tacoma! So didn't any other Region VIII chapter present a program?
- Olympic Peninsula Chapter (820) sponsored a members recital with reception on June 1st. Olympic Peninsula chapter is on-line at: www.attbi.com/~pfroy/olyago.htm
- Other Chapters No report?
A Modest Proposal by Michael Barone
Michael Barone, host of Pipedreams, AGO member, President of the Organ Historical Society, has written:
A MODEST PROPOSAL - Beyond Statistical Insignificance
Or...How to Benefit Organ Music (and ourselves) Easily, and at Little Expense....
www.organfocus.com/features/essays/modest_proposal.php3
June checklist in your Chapter
- Professional Certification exams are help at approved exam centers. Taped portions held at any chapter.
- Installation of officers held at any suitable time following the elections!
- Outgoing Dean passes Chapter Management Handbook to incoming Dean. New Dean makes copies of pertinent portions and passes out to new officers and board members.
- New Executive Committee meets and elects chaplain (if desired).
- New Executive Committee meets and approves programs and budget for coming year.
- Membership renewal and dues collection is in full swing.
- Regional Convention is held! Come, Come, Ye Saints!
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- End of fiscal year for ALL chapters.
- June 30 - END OF TERM for chapter officers. (Unless you are following the two-year election cycle, in which case it is only applicable in even-numbered years.)
July checklist in your Chapter
- July 1 - New fiscal year begins. Newly elected officers begin terms.
- Dues collection under way (may have begun as early as April 1)
- Treasurer gives accounting records to auditor(s), prepares annual financial statement for chapter, copy to National Headquarters.
AGO Credit Card
A new way to help the Guild is to obtain an AGO credit card. This never occurred to me before! At our recent meeting, James Thomashower, told
us that the AGO receives a commission on each card that is issued, and for each purchase made on it.
I finally got mine and am using it for "larger expenses" like travel, etc. So the next time the offer comes in the mail, please take a moment to consider it if it meets your needs!
Wanted: Host chapter for 2007 Region VIII Convention
HELP WANTED: Region VIII is searching for chapter to host our 2007 Region VIII Convention. Any takers? Chapters who have hosted a regional report a resurgence of member activity and increased chapter vitality. Plus, the host chapter realizes a huge financial profit as a bonus! There has never, ever been a chapter that later regretted the experience! Deadline for 2007 Regional Convention bids: 1/1/04
Visit the National AGO web page for downloadable documents, www.agohq.org/docs/doc.html and scroll down to "Competitions and Conventions." Here you will find two documents which will walk you through every step of the way!
Be Safe -- New E-mail Viruses afoot...
If you do much with e-mail, please note that a new variation of the BugBear worm has appeared, and those who run any flavor of Windows need to make sure that they have up-to-date anti-virus software to avoid it. (Using Eudora or another email program instead of MicroSoft products can help.) The virus exploits a known (and patchable) problem to make its attachment execute without your telling it to do so.
Of course, your know to NEVER, EVER, EVER open attachments if you don't know *what* they are and *why* you've received them. Why not update your anti-virus software today?
Previous months' Region VIII newsletters? -- a change!
New address for the newsletter archive: www.teleport.com/~wkrueger/region8
Sincerely, Walter Krueger, Region VIII Councillor
DO NOT READ THIS:
A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church
service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little
girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."
Pipe up with your thoughts.
The "wise gargoyle" me fecit, mmiii. 