Harmony, Incorporated HI Note: January 2022 Issue #2

President's Message: Harmony gets stronger

Harmony gets stronger
View the Annual Report & Meeting Minutes

By Linda Brehaut, International President

As I sit and look at all the snow outside, I'm so glad I can spend this time thinking about you rather than having to go out in the cold!

The minutes of the 2021 Annual Board Meeting are now posted on our website along with reports and supporting documents to help you understand where some of our discussions were rooted. You will also be able to locate the Annual Report there. Please know it is a long read, so go make yourself a cup of tea (or glass of water) and settle in. When you are finished reading the report, I hope you believe that Harmony is alive and well. Harmony gets stronger by the year!

The COVID-19 Protocol Q&A Area Town Hall sessions have been penciled in on the calendars. This was no easy feat, so I hope you will accept our apologies if your Area event landed on a rehearsal night. A Zoom link will be sent out to you at least a week prior to your session.

Area 1 February 6, 6:00 – 7:00 pm EST
Area 2 January 30, 8:30 – 9:30 pm EST
Area 3 February 6, 7:30 – 8:30 pm EST
Area 4 February 7, 8:30 – 9:30 pm EST
Area 5 January 30, 7:00 – 8:00 pm EST
Area 6 January 24, 8:30 – 9:30 pm EST

Stay well, stay positive, and stay connected!

Share your skills

Share your skills and experience on the
International Board of Directors

By Donna McKay, Immediate Past President and Governance & Nominations Committee Chair
As you know, we will be holding elections in the spring for seats on the International Board of Directors. Having served on the IBOD for the past six years, I can say that it is an extremely fulfilling experience! As a long-time member, board service gave me an opportunity to use my skills and experience to make a difference for Harmony, Inc., an organization that I’m passionate about. I’ll be honest, board service can be challenging at times, but with those challenges comes the satisfaction of knowing that I contributed in some small way to the success of our beloved organization.

Have YOU ever considered serving on the IBOD? Below is the list of requirements and expectations for board service, compiled by the Governance & Nominations Committee (from the corporate manual, section 3, page 3.3). Perhaps your skills and experience make you a strong candidate for board service but you haven’t been asked to serve yet. Today I’m asking YOU to consider board service! I would welcome an opportunity to connect with you. Please contact me at pastpresident@harmonyinc.org. Remember, the deadline to apply is May 1, 2022 using forms HAR-034 Part 1 (Nomination Form) and HAR-034 Part 2 (Application Form). The forms can also be found in the Members Only section of our website.

Requirements of IBOD Nominees

Be a member of Harmony, Inc. in good standing, for a minimum of two (2) years at the time of nomination
Have previous administrative or board experience in a professional or volunteer capacity
Possess strong verbal and written communication, problem solving, and decision-making skills
Have daily access to a computer and the skills required to communicate electronically
Be able to work independently and collaboratively and manage time effectively to meet deadlines
Attend two out-of-town or virtual meetings each year, November and May, approximately 4-5 full days each
Attend two virtual quarterly meetings, usually February and September, approximately 3 hours each
Attend additional virtual meetings as needed
Participate in additional standing or special committees
Possess a valid passport enabling international travel
Commit to the culture and mission of Harmony Inc.
Possess a basic understanding of, or a willingness to learn how to interpret financial reports
Support a culture of philanthropy

General Expectations

Desire to improve the organization for all members. Board members are respectful of our history but willing to look forward with a vision to see the organization grow.
Dependable, organized, prepared and detail oriented. Board members must be willing to commit the time needed to accomplish the work of the Board.
Strong verbal communication skills. Board members must effectively communicate in meetings and in written reports/documents. They encourage dialogue and listen to the ideas of others with an open mind.
Board members must collaborate, adapt, think strategically, analytically, and critically in a professional manner with a commitment to confidentiality.
Board members must have a passion to serve the organization in a constructive and harmonious way!

Specialized Skills that are considered an asset on the IBOD (but not a requirement)

Leadership or managerial background
Knowledgeable in music
Experience in the not-for-profit community
Experience in Strategic Planning
Experience in Marketing, Customer Service, Public Relations, Law or Finance/Accounting
Effective public speaker

Chapter News: Women of Note (Area 2)

Directors for a year
Women of Note design a new musical leadership model

By Ashley Lang, Chapter President

Started in 1988 by a group of women who worked at Digital Equipment Corporation, Women of Note has always been a tight-knit group.

“From the beginning we worked in a collaborative style. Early Music Team meetings were long and animated, trying to make sure that all voices were heard before we finalized music choices each year. We may not always have agreed, but everyone supported the decisions because we had all participated in making them. We relied heavily on Jean's (Patterson), Debi's (Stoll), and Diane's (Patterson) experience, but we all contributed. It made for a very tight-knit group,” says Linda Bober, a founding and still active member of the education team.

Over the last 30-plus years, there have been ups and downs and changes and growth. Directors have come and gone, board members have come and gone, management changes, members change. The standing rules that were written evolved, but always with the chorus leaders working as a team, reflecting strategies and goals to make the chorus flourish.

When the pandemic struck, the chorus found itself without a director and not meeting in person, seeing each other only on computer screens once a week. The board and the education team decided to take that time to re-evaluate our goals, and who we are. The education team came to the board with a plan, something different, but something reflecting the core of Women of Note. We are a collective group of people with very different skills and strengths who have come together to sing great music and get better with every rehearsal. With that in mind we started developing our new Women of Note Core values. We had great coaches come in to help us develop these ideas and things grew from there. Why not redesign the whole structure? Maybe challenge the standard of a paid outside director, develop our members to direct us, and develop an education team that can bring our singing to the next level?

Identifying core values

So it began. What did we want our new structure to look like? What would change? What core pieces did we want to keep? The biggest question was: Who would be willing to step up and take on this adventure?

Well, during our Zoom life, the entire education team had already stepped up in a huge way. They met every week to develop new virtual rehearsal plans that were engaging, and still educational. They brought in coaches from around the world, games, ways for us to keep challenging our skills, and ways to develop the close relationships that we knew would get us through Zoom life. Then, as the ideas of what we wanted became more concrete and we knew that this would be a cooperative, successful team, we also knew that our chorus still needed leaders that would be in front of the chorus, directing. We felt that having a single leader would stretch one person too thin for all the responsibilities, so when Nanda Landers and Maria Gabriella offered to step into the role as associate directors, the board and the education team were thrilled!

So, we had a plan, we had a structure, we had a great team, and we had directors! As the snow melted and the warm weather started, the possibility of meeting outside as a chorus and singing together got everyone excited. We had our first in-person rehearsal with Nanda and Maria running the show. The new system wasn't official yet, and the chorus had voted to take our time with this on a trial basis.

Implementing the plan

The education team meets once a week for short planning meetings, and once a month for long-term goals, education plans, and planning for coaches. We have a music team made up of the education team and other important roles in the chorus (show chair, chorus manager, performance team chair and more.) Maria and Nanda have been working so hard on learning the interpretation plans for our entire rep as well as developing their skills and style as directors. As we grew as a team and learned to follow the hands of Nanda and Maria, we had our first performance in over 18 months. Then a couple of holiday gigs and we were feeling the joy of singing for the public again.

The first week of December the chorus officially voted that Maria and Nanda fill the associate director spots for the inaugural year of this program. Every year we will open applications to any chorus members interested in taking on this challenge. The education team gives support to any member wanting to apply for an associate director position by letting the member pick a song in the rep to direct and develop her skills. Julie Schwingbeck took on this challenge with a few holiday songs this year.

“I feel like we are going back to our roots, who we started out to be as a chorus, and investing in our members,” Maria says.

The chorus has greatly enjoyed watching Nanda's and Maria’s skills grow in front of our eyes. Every rehearsal is filled with laughter and fun challenges. Our chorus has gained eight new members in the last few months, and many new guests are coming in to see how much fun we have with this new chorus. Having Maria and Nanda in front of us, with an incredible education team behind them, makes the entire chorus feel that there is nothing we can’t achieve!

Convention Team announces new assistant

By Allison Thompson, Convention Manager

The Convention Team is happy to introduce Margaret Cain as our new Convention Team Assistant. Margaret lives in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and has been a member of Harmony, Inc and Sing Niagara for five years.

She started her Barbershop hobby, which has turned into more of a “career,” in 1996. Over the years, she has been a member of two Sweet Adelines choruses: York Harmony and North Metro. Her passion for our wonderful craft has offered her a number of opportunities including quarteting, Show Chair, Copyright Chair, Music Librarian and Chapter Vice President. She has also served as Sing Niagara’s president for almost four years.

Margaret is married to Tom Cain and has a son, a grandson, and a step-daughter. Her other passion is the showing, breeding, and training of purebred dogs, particularly German Shepherds. She now shares her home with Beamer, a German Shepherd, and Milly, a Dachshund.

Margaret says she is thrilled to join the International Convention and Contest team as the Convention Team Assistant and very much looks forward to working with the talented members of this important team.

Please join us in welcoming Margaret to the team and thanking Dorothy Webster for her years of service as our Convention Team Assistant.

Agenda Items Requested for Mid-Year Meeting

Calling for IBOD Mid-Year Meeting item submissions
By Kelly Peterson, Corporate Assistant

Prior to International Board Meetings, members and chapters are given an opportunity to submit items for consideration at the next IBOD Meeting. The official form for submitting agenda items for the 2022 International Board of Directors Mid-Year Meeting is HAR-009, available in the Members Only section of the website.

Please be sure to complete the entire form and submit it by the April 15, 2022 deadline for Mid-Year Meeting. If you have any questions about the agenda item form, please contact the corporate office at CorporateOffice@harmonyinc.org or call toll free 855-750-3341.

Membership renewals begin in February

Membership renewals begin in February
By Kelly Peterson, Corporate Assistant

On February 15, 2022, 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 Only section of the website beginning February 15.

All members, regardless of the date they initially became members, will be required to renew by April 1. This includes new Chapter, Associate, and Affiliate members who joined between October 2021 and March 2022.

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 documents 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.

Please call the corporate office, 855-750-3341, or send an email with any questions. I am happy to help with this process!

AC&C News

Area Contest Entry Forms & Deadlines

Area 6 AC&C
March 31-April 3, 2022
Contest Entry Deadline February 1, 2022
Late Entry Cut-off Date March 2, 2022

Area 2 AC&C
April 21-24, 2022
Contest Entry Deadline February 21, 2022
Late Entry Cut-off Date March 23, 2022

Area 3 AC&C
April 29-May 1, 2022
Contest Entry Deadline February 28, 2022
Late Entry Cut-off Date March 30, 2022

Area 5 AC&C
May 27-29, 2022
Contest Entry Deadline March 28, 2022
Late Entry Cut-off Date April 27, 2022

Area 1 AC&C
June 2-5, 2022
Contest Entry Deadline April 4, 2022
Late Entry Cut-off Date May 4, 2022

Area 4 AC&C
June 10-12, 2022
Contest Entry Deadline April 11, 2022
Late Entry Cut-off Date May 11, 2022

As a reminder, all contestants who will 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, 2022 in order to participate in contests.

All quartets must be registered with the Quartet Development Coordinator prior to registering for contest. Visit https://www.harmonyinc.org/har-028-official-quartet-registration-form/ to complete the quartet registration process.

Area Contest Entry forms are available now for both Chapters and Quartets on the Members Only section of the website or by following the links below. You may complete the contest registration process and pay online, or you may submit your form using the online system and mail payment to the Corporate Office by the posted deadline.

Chorus Entry Form: https://www.harmonyinc.org/har-063-official-area-chorus-contest-entry-form/
Quartet Entry Form: https://www.harmonyinc.org/har-061-official-area-quartet-contest-entry-form/

Mixed Barbershop Harmony Association quartets are also invited to attend Area Conventions and sing for score and evaluation on a space available basis. Check the MBHA website for particulars.

Harmony Notes

Condolences from the Membership

(correction) To Vangie Mofford (Area 1 Associate Member) on the sudden death of her husband, Melvin (Mel) Mofford, who was a barbershopper and huge supporter of Vangie's previous chorus, the Sea Belles.

Deadlines approaching!

JANUARY 31: Honorary Membership nomination forms due
JANUARY 31: U.S. Chapters to submit Forms 1096 and 1099 to IRS for payment of honorariums over $600.
FEBRUARY 5-6: IBOD Q1 meeting. Contact Corporate Office for link if you wish to observe.
MAY 1: Applications/nominations for International Board of Directors due

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