Greetings fellow future music educators! What a year it has been. For those of you who, like me, were kept from the February ISW by the snow, I am Billy Wicks and I am this year's Kansas NAfME Collegiate President. I am sorry I didn't have the chance to meet with any of you this past February, but hopefully I will get that chance soon. I hope that your summer has gone well and that you are as excited as I am for what new challenges and adventures await us during this next school year.

I would like to take a moment and thank all of the chapters who sent in reports for our June Board Meeting, as well as all of those in attendance at our June Board Meeting. I feel as though we laid some good groundwork for this year. Also, I would like to thank the chapter advisors and those who have assisted with helping throughout the year—especially those who have helped out with KCOMTEP either directly or via email. The conference is shaping up well thanks to your contributions.

At the state level, we have two main events each year. One is the February ISW (which I will talk about more in future articles) and the other is KCOMTEP (ksmea.org/kcomtep). KCOMTEP stands for Kansas Conference of Music Teacher Education Professors and is a 2 day mini-conference primarily for collegiate members and their chapter advisors. The great thing about KCOMTEP is that it really gives us a chance to meet members from other chapters and exchange ideas. This year's KCOMTEP will take place in Wichita on Sunday September 29th and Monday September 30th.

KCOMTEP's Sunday meetings are hosted at Senseney Music and begin at 1:00. We'll meet there for various sessions, shopping, prizes, and a dinner (generously provided by Senseney). This year, some of our session topics include Apps for Band, Instrumental Quick Fixes, Special Needs and the Music Classroom, Kodály for the Secondary Classroom, and many others. Our guest speakers for the day will include Dr. Jacob Dakon (KU) and Cathy Crispino (2008 KMEA Outstanding Music Educator Award Recipient). After dinner, we will have a social event at the Best Western Airport Inn & Conference Center, in the official conference hotel. Monday's meeting will be on the Wichita State University campus We will have two sessions presented by Marcia Neel, lunch (which is provided), and end with our Fall State Collegiate Board Meeting. Please email chapter reports to me by noon on Monday September 23rd so that I can put together a board book to send out to the chapters. If you are unsure about how to fill out a chapter board report, you can find the template on our state webpage or look for it in the email I will send out in early September. Be sure to check the collegiate website (ksmea.org/collegiate) for specific details. I will be contacting many of you to update chapter information, so be looking for emails.

Be sure to mark your calendars for the 2014 ISW (February 27 - March 1, 2014 Century II Convention Center, Wichita). Registration for this important In-Service Workshop will be available on the KMEA website by November 1. As chapters get organized at the semester's start, please be sure to update your national NAfME membership as soon as possible. Your national membership entitles you to attend KCOMTEP and the ISW at the collegiate rate. This is important because all collegiate members must pre-register for the ISW—there is no on-site registration at the collegiate rate.

I hope that all of you have a safe and successful journey and I look forward to meeting many of you at KCOMTEP! Always remember if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will be sure to get back to you as quickly as possible.