Board takes action. (In Unison).

The MTNA Board met in Atlanta in November, where a number of significant areas were discussed and several proposals were acted upon.

AMT Editorial Committee

The most fortunate appointment of Kathleen Rountree as chair of the AMT Editorial Committee was announced in the December/January issue, and now we are proud to announce the newly appointed AMT Editorial Committee. They are listed on page 2 of this issue.

We are, indeed, privileged to have such knowledgeable colleagues to take on the responsibility for our revered American Music Teacher, our principle publication. I know that MTNA will benefit greatly from their expertise and leadership.

Division Elections

The national Nominating Committee, after long deliberation over the past three months, submitted a slate of candidates for Division Presidents-elect for the 2002-2004 term. Candidates for Northwest Division President also were submitted. A list of candidates and their bios can be found on pages 81-83 of this issue.

The MTNA Bylaws empower the membership directly to choose the leaders who will make decisions that affect our association and our profession, and the Board encourages all members to vote for the candidate of their choice in their Division. A ballot and instructions for voting via mail, fax or Internet are found between pages 80 and 81 of this issue.

MTNA Bylaws Amendment

In response to a suggestion from the State Presidents Advisory Council the Board voted to recommend an Amendment to the MTNA Bylaws, Article X, Section 1, Paragraph a. as follows: Add after the first sentence: "In the absence of the President of a state-affiliated association at any meeting of the State Presidents Advisory Council, the state president-elect or the state officer who serves in the absence of the president may substitute as the voting representative of the state."

The rationale for this action is that it is not always possible for a state president to attend the annual conference or Summit, and this would ensure that each state has representation and a vote on the State Presidents Advisory Council. The proposed amendment will be voted on by the membership at the 2002 Annual Business meeting on Tuesday, March 19, 2002, at 1:00 P.M. during the National Conference in Cincinnati.

National Committee Structure

After full debate, the Board decided upon a restructure of the MTNA appointed national leadership, effective in 2003. Current committees will be divided into two types: committees that carry out MTNA programs and committees that represent constituencies or serve in an advisory capacity. The first type will remain essentially unchanged. The second type, however, will be called "forums" and will have direct representation on the Board of Directors in the person of a director who will be appointed to head up each area. This director will convene the forum at each annual conference to generate ideas to better serve that constituency. State chairs will be encouraged to participate. The ideas generated there will be priority ranked by a small advisory group--chosen from the forum and including at least one Division President or President-elect--and presented for the Board's consideration at the summer meeting. The advisory group also will serve as a resource and sounding board for the chair for the remainder of the year.

Committees: Competitions, Composition Commissioning, Conference (formerly Convention), Summit (chair would be the President-elect and Division Presidents would serve as committee members), Editorial, Pedagogy Saturday (rename Pedagogy to Pedagogy Saturday to reflect its function), Membership (chair would be the President-elect and Division Presidents would serve as committee members) and Professional Studio Saturday (formerly Business Expo).

Forums: Independent Music Teachers, College Faculty, Local Associations, Arts Awareness and AdvoCacy (formerly Community Outreach and Education), Collegiate Chapters and Collaborative Performance.

Competitions

A number of items were considered and acted upon regarding the MTNA Competitions.

Teacher Entry Fee Eliminated

In response to the many members and leaders who have requested reconsideration of the members' teacher entry fee, the Board voted to eliminate the fee for all MTNA competitions effective July 1, 2002. Besides the financial burden on the member, the two fees caused considerable complications in the application process. While the loss of this revenue will strike a blow to the annual budget, the elimination of soft costs such as the labor-intensive processing of the fee will partially offset this loss.

Recordings Eliminated

At the request of the Competition Committee, the Board voted to eliminate the requirement that a recording be included in the application of composition contestants. This will considerably simplify the application process, and the new technologies have made this requirement extraneous. The American Composers Forum recently referenced twenty-eight national and international competitions; only two required recordings, one of which is an electronic music festival.

Percussion Suspended

Also, at the request of the Competition Committee, the Board of Directors voted to suspend the percussion competition at all levels, effective with the 2002-2003 competition year. Ongoing difficulties with providing professional-quality instruments, especially a five-octave marimba, played a part in the decision. During the next year, the issue will be studied, and members and the industry will be asked for input.

Dues Increase

The Board voted to raise active member dues annually based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rounded to the nearest dollar; however, regardless of the CPI--because of the current economic climate--the increase for the 2002-2003 year will be limited to $1.00. The last dues increase was announced in 2000-2001 and was $1.00. Since January 2001, the rate of inflation has averaged 3.054%. The Board was in general agreement that regular, small does increases were preferable to random, larger increases.

Advisory Councils

As provided by the Bylaws, the Board created two advisory councils: one for corporate members and one for institutional members. These groups will meet annually at the National Conference and will be open to all members in each member category. BOD members will serve ex officio, without vote, on these councils. These councils will provide direct input to the Board from these two valuable constituencies, an urgent need, particularly in these times when partnering with institutions and corporations is so vital to the welfare of our profession.

Certification

For legal reasons, the Certification program remains in the separate MTNA 501 (c)(6) corporation, but for purposes of accuracy and clarity, the National Certification Board will, effective July 1, 2002, be titled the "National Certification Commission." This latter term is the term of choice for a group that makes certification decisions for credentialing organizations and will prevent any confusion between two "Boards."