Wednesday, August 15, 2012

PRESIDENT’S NEWSLETTER Number 9 (August 2012)



Introduction: It has been a couple of months since the last President’s Newsletter. Members are reminded that the purpose of the Newsletter is to keep members advised on the administration and management of the Band. \

Committee Meetings
: The following matters were dealt with at the management committee meetings in June and July 2012:

  • A new Band Application form and new procedures have been developed that are compliant with the processes set out in the new constitution;
  • The band sponsorship document has been teased out and an implementation plan developed;
  • The Office of Business and Consumer affairs has accepted and registered our new constitution and Public Officer(Jim Smith);
  • The committee has discussed having 3-4 general meetings of Band members (one of which is the AGM) in a 12 month period. It is important to note, however, that members time and band practice time is precious and so only matters meaningful to the general membership should go to general meetings;
  • Preparations for the Tanunda Competition have begun. Hannah Mikajlo and Monique Seymour have been recruited to fill known vacancies in October;
  • The registration of the Band has been renewed with the APBA;
  • The Secretary is investigating fabric and makers for new pipe bag covers; and,
  • A fundraising overview has been developed based on the survey of members.
New Member: welcome to Craig Dawson, who has returned to the Band and who was endorsed as a new member during the June Committee meeting.

Band Social Evening: a sincere thank you goes out to Steve Moore for his dedicated work in preparing for and putting on the Social Night. Well done and thank you Steve!! The night was enjoyable. Thanks also go to those who assisted Steve in any way, including Kathy and Jason (who have I missed?). Thanks also to members who supported the night and assisted, played and donated raffle items.

The winter mini-band competitions: Three competitions, with different formats were conducted at Adelaide High School over the past 3 months. Some additional preparation and rehearsals were required due to the varied formats.

The competitions were valuable in pushing our preparation for the new competition MSR. We were underprepared for the July competition, but the effort was worthwhile in terms of Tanunda preparation.

Welcome Back Willie: members welcomed P/M Willie Dowie back to practice last week. During his 6 week absence overseas, the P/M role was filled by Andy Thomson. The members were appreciative of Andy’s efforts during this time, which included preparation for and performances at two of the mini-band competitions. Well done Andy!

Learner Piper drive:
efforts to recruit more learner pipers continue. Newspaper ads proved fruitless. Other avenues are currently being explored. Any members who know of potential recruits, including family members, should try to pursue them. There are now NO vacancies for learner drummers, as the drum corp. has sufficient learners for the available tuition resources.

New Drums: the new bass and tenor drums arrived in late June and have since been set-up and are now in use. The drums have a lovely tone and should assist the future sound of the Band.

Reminder
- Wearing Band Uniform at private engagements: Members are reminded that they require the approval of the Band Committee to wear any part of the Band uniform at private engagements. A letter requesting permission would be best and it needs to go to a committee meeting, so members need to get organised in advance. Any last minute requests could be considered by the committee at a band practice. Everyone’s co-operation on this matter is expected.

August Committee Meeting – postponed: The August Committee meeting was postponed to next week, to allow for the extra rehearsal time for the Social Night.

Uniform
: please advise Nic Brown of any issues related to your uniform. Every member should have a full uniform. We are planning to have 2 new kilts made for members in the near future. There must be something good going on with the health of our members, as members seem to be getting thinner and thinner!!

Engagements:
please check the diary on the CEPB website, as a number of engagements are coming up at the end of August, including: Gawler Show (over 2 days) and another Munno Para Caledonian Society night.

Jeff Seymour
President