The Regional Management Team spent an awesome weekend in May looking to the future of the region with many exciting new ideas. We are so lucky to have Jolene Forzetting serving in the position of Events Coordinator and Debbie Curtis coming back to us in the position of Marketing Coordinator. These are awesome ladies with a passion for the organization in general and love for our region in particular. Please take a moment to thank them for the work they do.

In my position as Communication Coordinator, we are continuing to look for ways to enhance and encourage our means of communication with the membership without breaking the budget. We have expanded our communication through the Internet with various groups, forums and newsletters. We will be distributing our regional roster on CDs only this year.  They will be sold to the choruses as a master who will then be able to copy the disk or print copies of the directory for their membership. We hope to control our regional costs this way while still making the information available to the membership.

We are always looking for new ideas and suggestions. If you have a specific idea or just like to be involved, please come and talk to me. I would love to help you become more involved in regional government.

All of our directors are in for a HOT weekend starting with Friday sessions with Ase, and including the opportunity to experience Ase live and from the front! as we all sing in the S.T.A.R. Chorus – get to watch her weave herself into the rhythms of the music! Can’t wait!

During our Strategic Planning weekend, the RMT made a few changes that involve the DCP (Director’s Certification Program), coordinated by Patti Goin (Celebrity City). If you are in the program but need to finish up a few loose ends, Summer Sizzler is your only chance this year to take the tests on Sunday morning. If you are not yet in the Program, I would highly encourage you to join and raise your education another level – and note that there are brand new upgrades on the DCP Study Modules now available from HQ, so you can learn even more!

All active members of the DCP will now be eligible to attend a designated Friday “Directors Only” class at all seminars!   Starting Right NOW! The Friday afternoon class at Sizzler with Ase on “Chord Identification” is open to all DCP participants!

S.T.A.R. Chorus is stronger than ever thanks to its coordinator, Wendy Franklin (California Heartland)! The idea that we all come home with a fully choreographed song to add to our chorus rep is so wonderful! And this weekend a chance to sing for Ase – what a treat! Our friend, Doreen Philbin, will be teaching us her exciting visual plan for this 2-song set; and then it’s another Saturday night S.T.A.R.-spangled performance!

The Spotlight will be on quartets and mass singing with all our favorite director folk all throughout the weekend thanks to Spotlight coordinator, Mary Ashford (Channelaire/South Valley Sound). Our Spotlight program allows us all to sing more during these weekends – so be sure to get to classes on time and join in the song!

We are thrilled to have Kira Wagner, Harmony Showcase Chorus, as our YWIH Coordinator. She is available to help any of you plan and hold a YWIH Festival sponsored by your chorus. Please use her expertise and see how YOUR chorus can help this noble cause!

I believe the definition of a leader is first and foremost a servant. Therefore my goal is to serve the members of Region 11 along with my fellow RMT members, to give you the best educational and competitive experiences possible.

• Dottie Henshaw, who is, and has been, the Chair of the Regional Convention Steering Committee (CRC) continues to do a fabulous job ALL year long.
• Bea Knaapen, the Chair of the Regional Seminars Steering Committee (CRS), is taking on this job for the first time.
• Linda Wong, the Regional Sites Coordinator, negotiates contracts for the region both at the Convention Center and at the hotels.
• Tina Rowley, Competition Coordinator (CC), is the “woman behind the curtain”, always making sure the contest runs smoothly and every contestant has a wonderful experience on stage.

There are several jobs coming available on the above committees, so come and talk to me or one of the chairs if you are interested in “giving back” and being part of an awesome team. I’m looking forward to an “eventful” year and I hope to see everyone at seminar – and in Hawaii, too. Blessings! – Jolene

You will see some new faces on the financial team this year, including Cindy McBurney (Central Coast Celebration) as our new Regional Sales Chair. Cindy is out looking for new vendors and some new programs for “non-member” dues and if you have any ideas, please feel free to share with her!  Marcia Bosma (Verdugo Hills) has been appointed as our new Young Women in Harmony Fund Chair and I’m sure you will be hearing from Marcia sometime in the near future! Nan Waltman (Channelaire) will be returning as our Grants Advisor. Nan is ready, willing and able to assist you or answer questions about seeking grant funding for your chorus – something all choruses should be looking into!

Cindy McBurney, Regional Sales Chair: cynthialeemcgb@msn.com

Marcia Bosma, YWIH Fund Chair: marcia@mbosma.com

Nan Waltman, Grants Advisor: neworld333@hotmail.com

By now, you should have received at least 3 issues of the new monthly “Marketing Minute”. I hope you’ll find this to be a valuable tool, not only for marketing ideas/tips, but for reminders about regional events! If you have ideas for articles, please send me your contributions!

Webmaster Pat Vincent and I have been working on an updated look for the Region 11 website. Navigation has been improved, making it easier for you to find things! If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, go to: www.sai-reg11.com. Look for a picture of your chorus – or YOU! – in the candid shots throughout the site!!

Have a great weekend, everyone! – Debbie

Region 11 recently completed our first event devoted exclusively to Membership in many years! It was a great day and there was a lot to take in!! We called it a workshop instead of a seminar because everyone attending was put to work! Nobody got to sit back and just listen.

We started out the morning with a mock “Guest Night” and everyone coming in the door was welcomed to the Pride of the Region Chorus rehearsal!! Guests were voice-placed and eventually put on the risers! It had been many years for some of us since we had that experience, so it was eye opening to see things from the guests prospective!!

Monica Tautkus, Region 11 Directors’ Coordinator, was our first faculty. She discussed the power and impact the director has on a guest, and she gave us tips on how we can make sure every guest has a special moment with the director. She also presented so many ideas and gave us lots of materials to use and each chorus can make the materials their own! It was super to have so much info to choose from!! There was something for everyone!

Our Region 11 Marketing Coordinator, Debbie Curtis, gave a fabulous presentation called “60 Membership Tips in 60 Minutes” (aka “Find ‘em, Get ‘em, Keep ‘em”)! She had tips on not only marketing, but what to do from the time someone first visits our chorus, the beginning stages of membership and through long-term retention. As Debbie concluded her presentation, we immediately put into action one of her retention tips called “4 for Lunch”!! It was great fun and we all learned so much from each other!

The new Membership campaign from International was previewed by Erin Lunn, International Membership Committee member. She had hard copies of some of the files that will be available through International towards the end of August. Erin explained how every chorus will be able to create professional-looking marketing tools by dropping their own name and information in the file and printing out what they need!! You can use the fabulous photos already on the “Real Women, Real Harmony, Real Fun” Campaign, featuring Region 11’s own Central Coast Celebration Chorus, or you can drop in your own photos!! It’s all going to be ready for you to use and customize as each chorus sees fit!

We also had a revealing time of brainstorming and sharing. It was great for all of us to see that every chorus has something to learn from another chorus, no matter what size. It was also a time of real problem-solving for some as we shared actual situations that have occurred during the course of a guest night and we left with solutions for the future!!

Plans will be underway this weekend for our next event: “Membership begins with ME”! A focus on retention or what I like to call Re-Recruitment! Watch the R11NG for more info and a “Save the Date” notice soon!!

Think about joining the:

Reach out to our membership
Enrich your Sweet Adeline experience
Give back to the Region
Inspire others with your dedication
Open doors to new experiences
Note the difference your efforts make

Management Team

For those interested in finding out more about the RMT openings for 2009 or the many opportunities for committee work, please see any one of us on the RMT for more information. We’d love to share our own experiences with you, discuss the opportunities that are currently available and those opening up in the near future where you can contribute your time, skills and talents.