Maine Motif Issue 2, Vol. II (Winter, 2018) | Page 8

- Highlights of the October National Executive Board Meeting, including • planning for the 2018 NAfME National Conference, NAfME statements on Affirming All Students and Support for Disaster Response Efforts, and approval of the management plan for Connecticut to host the 2021 Eastern Division Conference in Hartford, CT. Reports from NAfME President Denese Odegaard and Executive Officer Mike Blakeslee on issues including: - The new Amplify networking platform and its capacity to encourage communication on all manner of subjects among NAfME members. - Re-thinking the “NAfME Experiences” including structures for professional development, conferences, honors groups and advocacy. - The addition to NAfME of the Western Music Education Association, based in India, and affiliated with the NAfME Western Division. Although our meeting occurred on one weekend, the dialogue associated with the meeting has continued. Your state leaders have continued to discuss those six essential issues using the Amplify tool, sharing best practices and offering advice and direction for one another on an as-needed basis. The nomination process for the next Division President-Elect is under way. The Pennsylvania MEA team is hard at work on the logistics of both the 2019 Division Conference and the Honors Ensembles. And believe it or not, the Connecticut MEA Executive Director is already contracting with hotels for the 2021 Division Conference! The work of the Eastern Division never ends; it just takes place in the background most of the time. There are countless volunteers in our county, regional, state, division, and national associations that give freely of their time, talent and organizational expertise to make great things happen for students and for their fellow music educators. If you haven’t done so recently, please offer a loud, proud “Thank You” to any and all of your colleagues who have stepped up to facilitate activities within our family of professional organizations. Sharing that spirit of gratitude will doubtlessly warm your heart, as well as the hearts of those basking in your praise. It’s something that we do pretty well as music teachers, right? And it’s a great way to share some valuable warmth during this frosty time of the year! Questions for Marc? You can contact him at [email protected]