News

WMEA  Update

An update from our region president:

A brief time of events- In early March, Scott Ketron laid out the current monetary issues to the executive board- we lost enough money on the Spokane conference this year that we are currently unable to meet some of our financial obligations.  There were further meetings in March/April to work through the full extent of our situation.  When presented to the executive board, the decision was made to reduce staffing to enable us to allocate our funds to our current debts.  Currently, Beth Fortune is our interim director, and we still retain our bookkeeper.

The decision to appoint Beth interim director was made because of her experience around conference and All-State.

Some key things the board wants you to know-

1) Their current priority is getting out of debt.  They will not begin looking at hiring/staffing until our financial situation is secure.

2) They are reaching out to people who have worked our events before to see who can volunteer to help with All State, Conference, and Solo and Ensemble.

3) This is an opportunity for members to become more active in the running of our events.  If you are an Opus wiz or great at running event logistics, they would love to hear from you.

The number one way we as individuals can assist monetarily at this time is to renew your WMEA membership early!

What I took away from the meeting is that the exec board is committed to maintaining our events and will be working hard on a volunteer basis to make thing happen but will need help from us as members.  Venues are currently being secured for All State 2026 in Tacoma, Conference 2026 in Yakimah, and Solo Ensemble 2026 at CWU. 

When presidents asked the board what they would like us to communicate to you, they gave us the following bullet points:

• Engage with WMEA, the community that seeks to serve educators & their students

• Be patient & gracious during a very challenging transition

• Help WMEA get from surviving to thriving

• Renew your membership

• Volunteer with your local MEA and/or with WMEA events & activities

Finally, I want to tell you that while the situation is not very good currently, the board does believe that we can weather this and come out the other side stronger.  If you have questions for me, please reach out, I will answer to the best of my ability. 

Rachel Nies
VMEA Region President

NAfME Update

With careful consideration, the National Executive Board (NEB) has formally adopted the 2024-2025 NAfME dues for active members at $104, a $2 increase over 2023-2024. We value the commitment to music education made by each member through their join or renew decision annually while recognizing the cost of providing support and service to our members that has continued to increase.

This $2 dues increase will help NAfME pursue many important initiatives in support of our unified membership, consistent with the 2022 NAfME Strategic Plan as well as A Blueprint for Strengthening the Music Teacher Profession. It will bolster valuable NAfME benefits and programming supporting NAfME members at every phase of their careers – collegiate, active, or retired. (Please see the updated Value and Benefits of NAfME Membership flyer for more information.) The NEB’s decision also reflects the “cost of doing business,” which continues to increase annually.

Valley Region Choral Project "Alone Together" Performance

The VMEA is pleased to present a collaboration with Erin Guinup, director of the Tacoma Refugee Choir.  The Valley Region Choral Project included a commissioned piece composed with lyric input from students in our region, a virtual field trip in May, and a virtual performance that premiered on June 9th, 2021.  "Alone Together" reflects the emotions that our students  struggled with during the pandemic and expresses hope for the future.