East Central Division.

Indiana MTA held its state conference November t 1-12, 2005. The theme of the conference was The Piano Teacher: Diamond of the Profession, which focused on the multi-faceted role of the piano teacher. The conference featured pianist Ian Hobson and commissioned composer Eleanor Trawick of Ball State University. MTNA Executive Director Gary Ingle was the keynote speaker at the banquet. Other sessions included "Career Opportunities for Students," "Bridging the Gap Between Methods and Intermediate Literature" and "Motivational Strategies for Piano Students."

One of the strongest themes to emerge from the Michigan MTA Leadership Summit, April 12, 2005, was working toward centralizing operations. To that end, MMTA will establish an administrative staff position, such as the one Illinois MTA has had for more than 10 years, to aid in the coordination of membership information, correspondence, newsletter production and so on. Three other goals were identified at the summit: 1) member education and recruitment, 2) conference attendance and 3) adjudication.

Leadership summits are now held each summer in three of the five states in our division: Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan. MTNA holds a similar annual summit in September for state, division and national leaders. The summits provide a time to focus on equipping leaders to meet the challenges of our dynamic and vital organization.

Mark Mrozinski

Arlington Heights, Illinois