Thank you to everyone that pre-registered for the 2018 AMEA Professional Development Conference.  In spite of the weather issues, we were able to see a great number of members in attendance.  We had over 1000 attendees (780 pre-registered and over 220 on site).  Being in a new venue, we experienced some technical issues regarding the internet wifi that I hope will be resolved before next year’s conference.  If you did not pre-register, you should. It is easy with the online payment method and I want to be able to process the Check Ins as fast as possible so that you may spend your time enjoying the conference instead of waiting in line to register.  I am working to make sure that no one has to wait very long.  I may ask for some help from our members to open more stations next year, but you can help speed up the process by making sure your NAFME membership is current prior to the conference and by registering online.

On another note, some of you are experiencing issues with your pre-registration checks being returned because of the wrong address on the checks.  Some schools have a program that defaults to a Sheffield, Alabama PO Box when the Zip Code 35661 is entered. Please have your bookkeepers check on this if your check was returned and have them make a note of it for the future.  The correct address for mailing pre-registration forms is:  AMEA Registrar, PO Box 3385, Muscle Shoals, AL 35661

Pat Stegall

Registration for the January AMEA Conference in Birmingham has just begun and many of you have already registered!  Thank you for being pro-active and preregistering. Remember to remind your colleagues to join; include the new music teachers; invite the inactive music teachers and be involved as a mentor to the young music teachers.

A pre-requisite for registering for the conference is that you must renew your membership now at www.nafme.org .  Membership in NAfME is required for participation in state MEA sponsored events like the AMEA Conference, the Elementary Division Fall Conference, All-State, and Musical Performance Assessments.  Joining NAfME secures your membership in AMEA and in your division.

If you have not registered, you can pre-register now for the 2018 AMEA conference online at www.myamea.org. You may also choose to preregister by mail using the form in the Ala Breve.  You will find it is easy and will save you time and money. Do it NOW!!!  Reunite with friends and colleagues from all over the state in January. Rejuvenate your energy and renew your enthusiasm for the rest of the school year!

 

Pat Stegall

It is not too early to be thinking about our AMEA Conference in January, 2018. Just remember, you must join NAfME, and you should pre-register when pre-registration becomes available. A healthy organization is always concerned with growth and development, and the AMEA board is interested in growing our organization, and for getting all music teachers in Alabama involved in professional development through AMEA and NAfME. You can help increase our membership by communicating the benefits of membership to our colleagues. When you are joining or renewing your membership, think of those music teachers in your area that may not be active members, and send them a message inviting them to join!

Remember to: Remind your colleagues to join, include new music teachers, invite inactive music teachers and be involved as a mentor to young music teachers. Renew your membership now at www.nafme.org . Membership in NAfME is required for participation in state MEA sponsored events like the AMEA Conference, Elementary Music Workshop, All-State and Musical Performance Assessments. Joining NAfME secures your membership in AMEA and in your division.

I would like to thank the volunteers who helped stuff packets on Wednesday evening.  It was great seeing you all networking with each other while you assisted.  I would also like to thank all of you that pre-registered for helping to make the check-in process so easy!  We are using the NAfME equipment now and it really helps us speed up the process so you can attend the concerts and clinics instead of standing in line.  We still have a great number of people who wait until check-in to join or renew their NAfME membership and to register on-site for the conference.  Let me encourage you to plan ahead to join, renew, and pre-register next year. It takes less than a minute at the conference to check-in if you have done this.  There is also a discount if you pre-register so take advantage of this incentive. We will continue to offer on-site registration and plan to have several computers available for that purpose when we move to Birmingham, but you can avoid the long lines and delays by doing your part.

Currently, we are seeing about 75% of our membership use the pre-registration option which is great, but we can do better! My goal is 100% pre-registered with no delays in the process of check-in.  I encourage you to do your part by planning ahead.  On June 30, 2017, all members need to renew their membership, and in late August, pre-registration will open for the 2018 conference.  Go ahead and add these dates to your calendar as a reminder!  Again, thank you for attending the conference.