Dear Colleagues,
It is hard to believe that the 2019-2020 school year is here! I hope you and your families had a restful summer break and that your school year is off to a great start.
As many of you already know, we elected new Executive Board officers at our Business Meeting in February. I hope that you will join me in congratulating Megan Cooper as our Corresponding Secretary and Chuck Deen as our President-Elect. Chuck has been hard at work beginning preparations for the 2020 SCMEA Conference in Columbia and will have outstanding performing ensembles and clinics chosen for the Band Division. Also, we would like to welcome Tom Padgett to the Board as the new Winter Ensemble Chairman. Tom has also been hard at work in ensuring that the Winter Ensemble Championships take place in 2021. I have full faith that these three outstanding directors are going to be excellent ambassadors for our association.
I also want to take the opportunity to send congratulations to Bobby Lambert, Lanie Radecke, Jeff Handel, and the Wando High School Symphonic Band on their invitation to perform at this year’s Midwest Clinic. I hope that many of you are making plans to be in attendance in Chicago in December and I hope to see many of you there! We also had several other ensembles selected to perform at the USC Band Clinic, as well as the Music for All Regional Concert Band Festival. Band is alive and well in South Carolina!\
As we move into the new school year, there are a few items that I want to bring to your attention. First, our Annual Fall Meeting will be at River Bluff High School on Saturday, September 7. Along with committee meetings and the Marching Band draw, we will have a short General Meeting for everyone. After the Marching Band draw, we will have food trucks in the parking lot to provide lunch for all attendees. We look forward to this opportunity to appreciate all of our members and recognize your service to our association while providing time for colleagues to fellowship and re-connect in an informal setting. The schedule for the Fall Meeting is:
| Executive Board | 8:30 AM |
| General Meeting | 10:00 AM |
| Committee Meetings | 10:45 AM |
| New Member Meeting | 11:00 AM |
| Marching Band Draw | 11:30 AM |
| Lunch | 11:30AM – 1:30 PM |
As a reminder, please be sure your NAfME membership is current and that you update your information on Bandlink. If you have not joined NAfME, visit the SCMEA website (www.scmea.net) to join. You MUST be a member of NAfME/SCMEA to register and participate in SCBDA events. If you have any issues with your Bandlink registration, contact our Technology Chairman, Ryan Tinker ([email protected]). As the year progresses, please be mindful of our registration deadlines. If you ever need help or have questions, please reach out to a member of the Executive Board so that we may assist you. It is up to each of us to honor our professional responsibilities.
I hope that you have a fantastic start to the school year and I look forward to seeing all of you at our events throughout the year. As always, if I can be of any assistance at all, feel free to reach out!
Chaz Paxton
President, SCBDA