Hello Tri-M friends,

I hope that you all have had a great beginning to your year and are off to a strong start with your Tri-M organizations! I am sure that you all are up to your ears in preparation for first concerts, honor bands, district and state auditions, football pep bands, and many other Tri-M service activities. With all of these activities going on, I would like to emphasize that this is a very exciting time of the year that holds many opportunities for your Tri-M members to take action and be active. Give your Tri-M students various jobs that could lighten your load and encourage their leadership skills. The following are some simple yet effective ways to stay active in the community while promoting music education in our schools!

• Raise funds for your philanthropy by playing "Pep Bands" for your school's football fans' tailgates.
• Take your show choir, pep band, jazz band or small ensembles to nursing homes or community activities for a short performance.
• Ask the local grade schools if you can perform for their students. Many schools have themes they implement into their curriculum. Your group could possibly find a song or piece that fits into that theme.
• Consider having your National Honor Society and Tri-M member induction ceremonies together and provide music for the ceremonies.
• Fold concert programs for high, middle and grade school programs.
• Have Tri-M members offer free babysitting for grade or middle school music concerts. Parents will take full advantage of this opportunity and this will promote proper concert etiquette in your school.
• Have Tri-M students usher and hand out programs for the school concerts.
• Hold a "Music Learning Day" at your school. Many NAfME collegiate chapters are looking to help and assist high schools. Contact your local college or community college's NAfME chapter and have their members come and work with your league's students who are auditioning for All-State and District Honor Bands.
• Hold a "Mock Audition Day" a couple weeks before State and District live auditions. This will help reduce audition jitters and will also help educate students who have not been through the audition process before.
• Have a "Holiday-Tune" sale. Students in your school can buy their friends, teachers, or significant others a fun holiday song that will be performed throughout the school day.

These are just a few ways that you can get involved and stay active in your school during this fall semester.

Please keep documenting your activities and service projects. One of my goals is to have as many chapters a possible send in "Chapter of the Year" applications in 2014. We have a VERY STRONG tradition of excellence in the state of Kansas that I would like to keep it up. We have had two of our Kansas chapter win National Chapter of the Year awards in the past two years, who knows maybe this could be our third year in a row!

Hopefully this year the nasty weather will stay away for our In-Service Workshop. Please, start planning your trip and consider coming to this year's in-service Tri-M mini conference. Dr. Frank Tracz, Director of Bands at Kansas State University and member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association, will be our keynote speaker. A panel of future music educators will also be there to answer every question that you may have about college, music education, and what it takes to be a music major. I am looking forward to having fun and sharing our ideas together at the 2013-2014 KMEA In-Service Workshop and Tri-M mini conference! Stay active, stay involved, and mostly HAVE FUN!

I would love to help you all in any way. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, ideas or just to say Hello. Have a wonderful fall semester and share the power of music with those around you.