I hope this message finds every one well after a restful summer. I am starting my second year as the President of the Elementary/General Division, and I look forward to serving you once again. Phil Wilson will continue as President-Elect preparing to take over as President in summer of 2017. Ben and Kristina Sisco will continue as our Music Festival Directors along with the rest of the Elementary Division Executive Board and District Officers.

Our 10th Annual Elementary Music Festival is coming up on Friday, October 21st, 2016 at Samford University. We have over 45 schools committed to participate totaling about 450 4th & 5th grade students from all over the state. We will have Roger Sams and Vicki Portis as clinicians, and we thank Dr. Susanne Burgess from Samford University for partnering with us and hosting the festival at Samford.

The following day from 9 AM till 3 PM (Saturday, October 22nd), we will have a joint AMEA/AOSA teacher workshop at a local elementary school in the Birmingham area. We are still working out all the details and we will email out registration information once it is available. If you are not receiving emails from the Elementary Division, please send us an email at: elementaryamea@gmail.com and we will gladly add you to our email list.

Finally, our AMEA Annual In-service will be Jan 19th – 21st, 2017 at the Renaissance Hotel & Conference Center in Montgomery. This will be our last year in Montgomery as we make the move to Birmingham in 2018. We are excited to have some outstanding clinicians and exhibitors this year. First, we will have Andrea Coleman with us on Thursday and Friday. She will also do a fun evening session on that Friday night. We will also have Roger Sams, Georgia Newlin, and David Frego from Music is Elementary, and they will present throughout the In-Service and will have a Thursday night fun session. Music is Elementary will also have a booth in the exhibit hall as last year. We will also have two elementary performances in the concert hall along with other sessions of interest to our elementary music teachers. I am very excited about the 2017 In-service and encourage everyone to attend! Please be sure to pre-register and book your hotel rooms at the special conference rate! You can find links to do both online at www.alabamamea.org.

I am honored to serve our elementary/general division as President, and I look forward to seeing you at one of more of our upcoming events!

Respectfully submitted,

Cliff Huckabee