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Celebrating a new charter
Welcome, White Sands A Cappella!
By Gaye LaCasce, International President
I'm writing this message from sunny Florida, where I have the privilege of visiting with members from Area 6. This weekend, we'll charter White Sands A Cappella - one of the most wonderful celebrations in Harmony! I will also be able to coach and teach at the Area 6 Education Weekend, which will be great fun for me, and hopefully for the 100+ participants, as well.
Your International Board of Directors is gearing up for our first quarter meeting in early February, and there is a lot of member-focused business on the agenda. Please watch the next few installments of the HI Note for updates. (And a little plug here - please read the HI Note whenever it hits your in-box, and encourage your quartet and chorus mates to do so, as well. There is a plethora of great information included in every edition, and it's the best way to know what's going on with all facets of Harmony. What a labor of love for volunteers to prepare this for you twice a month!)
All for now. Time to don my flip flops and prepare for class! For those of you whose weather isn't as lovely as it is here, please stay safe.
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| Harmony Queens Fierce Rule! |
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2023 Harmony Queens Fierce (Kelly Peterson, tenor; Susan Ives, lead; Kris Wheaton, bass; Joy Suellentrop, bari) stride joyfully into the new year.
Harmony Queens rule!
Fierce? Yes, they were! We are so proud of our International Quartet champions and their great performance on the Saturday night show at the BHS Midwinter Convention in New York City last weekend.
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Membership renewals begin soon
By Kelly Peterson, Corporate Office
On February 15, 2024, documents and information will be distributed to all Chapter Presidents, Chapter Secretaries, Associate Members, and Affiliate Members. Current forms will be available in the Members section of the website beginning February 15. International dues are $75 USD ($38 USD for members age 25 and under as of April 1). Affiliate dues are $57 USD ($29 USD for Affiliates age 25 and under).
Any member who joined Harmony, Inc. prior to January 1, 2024, will be required to renew by April 1. Members who join January-March of 2024 will pay dues for both the current and upcoming membership years and need not renew until 2025.
CHAPTERS:
- If you have had any change in chapter leadership in the past few months, please notify the Corporate Office and provide updated contact information.
- Please complete a Loss of Member form for any members who are no longer involved in the chapter so they may be invited to remain active as Associate members.
- Your renewal documents will be specific to your chapter. Please follow the instructions provided in your renewal notice.
- Area dues must be submitted along with International dues for all renewing members, including Affiliate directors.
ASSOCIATE & AFFILIATE MEMBERS:
- Renewal invoices will be sent by email. Please notify the Corporate Office if your email address has changed in the past year. For members without an email address, renewal documents will be sent by mail.
- Your renewal documents will be specific to your Area and will include the correct Area dues amount, if applicable. Please follow the instructions provided in your renewal notice.
NEW THIS YEAR – Updates to Dual Membership
With the adoption of alternative rehearsal formats, our members are taking advantage of long-distance singing opportunities and becoming involved in Chapters and Areas far from their geographical homes. In response to this, the International Board of Directors approved a recommendation to allow members of more than one Area to be fully invested in and receive correspondence from both Areas. Effective this year, any member may choose to pay dues in their secondary Area. Members who opt into this program will be authorized a vote in the Area Director election for both affected Areas and will receive all pertinent Area-level communication.
- Members must opt in if they wish to vote and receive direct correspondence from both Areas. No dual member will be automatically charged Area dues in their secondary Area.
- Dual members are not required to pay dues with their secondary Area. This initiative does not change any contest rules or eligibility criteria, and dual members are still included in the total membership count of all chapters where they are in good standing.
- Dual members will continue to pay Corporate and Area dues through their primary Chapter.
- Chapters with members who pay their Corporate dues through a Chapter in another Area will be responsible for collecting Area dues for any dual member who wishes to participate.
- Associate members may request dual membership in a second Area by contacting the Corporate Office.
- No member will receive more than one vote in a Corporate-level election.
Please call the corporate office, 855-750-3341, or send an email with any questions.
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VP Convention & Contests
Sara Stone
By Sara Stone, VP Convention & Contests
Happy New Year, everyone! I am starting in a new role on the International Board as of November 2023 – I will serve as the VP Convention & Contests through next November. I served in this capacity before when I was on the International Board from 1997-2008. I also was the International Convention Manager for four years. I am thrilled to work with Allison Thompson and the convention team this year.
I’m a lifetime member of Harmony, Inc., joining in 1992. I’m active as the Musical Director of Covered Bridge Harmony, a founding member of Harmony Magic, and the lead of Change of Heart, the 1999 Harmony Queens. In addition to serving on the International Board, I am the Area 4 Convention Manager.
I am officially retired; however, I still manage to work part-time at a veterinarian’s clinic. My career started in the world of student financial aid at a Big 10 university, then 20 years in management, ending as an executive with Sallie Mae (a non-profit student loan secondary market). In addition to my management positions, I have also done extensive leadership and sales training.
I love to travel – last year to Alaska and this year to Greece. My family consists of two sisters and a brother and my lovely fur babies – dog CJ Horton (a Pyrenees/Lab mix – only 90 lbs!) and kitties Molly and Asher.
I’m excited to be a part of the team working on the biggest event of the year for our members. We have heard from you through our survey tools and we review that feedback thoroughly. Please continue to share your thoughts and suggestions with us.
Wishing you peace, joy, health, and happiness in 2024!
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Area contests are right around the corner!
Update your calendar with the information shown below for your Area. Entries received after the posted Entry Deadline will incur a $5-per-singer late fee, and contestants registering after this date will sing first in the contest. No entries will be accepted after the late entry cutoff. Please check your Area website for more details about your AC&C.
Area 1
May 30 - June 2, 2024
Entry Deadline: April 1
Late Entry Cutoff: May 1
Area 2
April 11-14, 2024
Entry Deadline: February 12
Late Entry Cutoff: March 13
Area 3
May 2-5, 2024
Entry Deadline: March 4
Late Entry Cutoff: April 3
Area 4
June 6-9, 2024
Entry Deadline: April 8
Late Entry Cutoff: May 8
Area 5
May 23-26, 2024
Entry Deadline: March 25
Late Entry Cutoff: April 24
Area 6
April 18-21, 2024
Entry Deadline: February 20
Late Entry Cutoff: March 20
As a reminder, all contestants who perform in Harmony, Inc. contests must be members in good standing, which means that all Harmony, Inc. Corporate, Area, and Chapter dues must be current as of April 1, 2024. In addition, quartets must also be appropriately registered and in good standing to enter any contest. If you have questions about your membership or quartet registration status, please contact the Corporate Office.
Contest entry forms are available online using the links below.
Official Area Chorus Contest Entry Form | https://www.harmonyinc.org/acc-chorus-cef/
Official Area Quartet Contest Entry Form | https://www.harmonyinc.org/acc-quartet-cef/
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Two new Assistant vacancies!
By Laura Oakes, Director of Programs
Harmony, Inc. has so many talented members who are willing to help if merely asked.
With two current vacancies - Education Coordinator and Copyright and Licensing Co-Coordinator - you have two opportunities to be a part of Harmony’s efforts to continue providing quality programs, music, and education.
The Education Coordinator’s main responsibilities are to develop a schedule of classes and names of instructors at IC&C and on-going online classes in The Hive. This volunteer also provides information to Area Education Coordinators to assist in meeting the training needs in their respective Areas as requested.
The second opportunity to serve your singing sisters is in the co-position of Copyright and Licensing Coordinator. This position is responsible for collecting information from Area Directors and the Convention Manager for the filing and payment requirements of the licensing organizations (ASCAP, SOCAN, BMI, Etc.) Harmony currently has one Coordinator, however to lighten the load, a second partner in avoiding crime is needed.
To see the complete job descriptions for these positions, please refer to the Corporate Manual Section 4 pages 4.62 and 4.38. When you are ready to take on one of these important roles, please complete and submit Form HAR-001, Application for Assistant to IBOD.
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| Equity, Diversity, and Me! |
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Join in the January EDC Roundtable
By Bonita Hester, Equity and Diversity Committee Chair
Harmony, Inc.’s Equity and Diversity Roundtable will be gathering once again on January 29 at 6 p.m. Eastern time. Those who attended our last meeting in November will remember that one of the topics we discussed was “inclusive song lyrics”. This is a subject that has been raised many times in the past and will likely need to be refreshed as time goes on.
At the Roundtable, we were made aware that some lyrics presented in contest songs at IC&C could be considered offensive by some of our members or audiences. Although the point was made that we believe that no one in Harmony would intentionally offend anyone else, sometimes there are words or phrases that may inadvertently go unnoticed and that may be offensive or hurtful to some people. We agreed that before adding any song to our repertoire we need to educate ourselves to ensure that the lyrics of the proposed song should be acceptable to a diverse audience.
We invite you to meet with us at our Roundtable. It is a venue where you can speak freely and without judgment on this and many other topics, and where you can learn more by working and sharing ideas and experiences with others. To be included, sign up on the Events calendar on the Members Only website.
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Your donations to the For Love of Harmony program enable you to identify individuals or groups to receive special recognition, while at the same time providing a monetary gift to Harmony, Inc.
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A Cappella Showcase in memory of Vance Barber, father-in-law to member Lynda Barber
A Cappella Showcase in member of John Baxter, husband of member, Norma Kimmins
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| Condolences From The Membership |
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- to Lynda Barber (A Cappella Showcase, Area 5) on the death of her father-in-law, Vance Barber
- to Rochester Rhapsody (Area 3) on the death of former member, Betsy Kohmescher
- to Norma Kimmins (A Cappella Showcase, Area 5) on the death of her husband, John Baxter
- to Laura Branan (Director of Harmony Sound Waves, Area 6) on the passing of her brother, Alan Branan
- to Donna McIsaac (The Over Tones, Inc., Area 5) on the death of her husband, Mike
Need to post a condolence notice? Please have the information sent to the Corporate Office to be recorded. Thank you.
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| ICC Future Dates & Venues |
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INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS & CONTESTS
2024 NOVEMBER 6-9, GALT HOUSE, LOUISVILLE, KY
2025 NOVEMBER 5-8, HERSHEY LODGE, HERSHEY, PA
2026 NOVEMBER 11-14, GALT HOUSE, LOUISVILLE, KY
2027 NOVEMBER 10-13, NIAGARA FALLS CONVENTION CENTER, NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO
2028 NOVEMBER 1-4, HERSHEY LODGE, HERSHEY, PA
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The next issue of the HI Note comes to your inbox February 5. Is your chorus or quartet planning something special for Valentine's Day or Harmony Awareness Week? Drop a line to editor@harmonyinc.org and we'll tell the world. Next deadline is January 28.
See you again, soon!
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