Dear members, State Candidates Voting for UMEA candidates will begin January 15th, 2018 for Elementary, Orchestra and Jazz Vice Presidents-elect. Candidates for Elementary VP-elect are Stacie Bowden and Rebecca Penerosa. Candidates for Orchestra VP-elect are Angela Harman and Megan Thorup. Candidates for Jazz VP-elect are Chris Taylor and Matthew Weidner. Candidate bios and statements will be included on the electronic ballot that members with current email accounts will receive, beginning January 15. Your opportunity to vote electronically in this election will depend on your current membership status. If your membership has lapsed, please renew quickly by going to: https://nafme.org/membership/ OR, for those registering for the UMEA Mid-Winter Conference (and renewing membership at that time), go to: http://umea.us/confreg.php Members with no email address on file will be mailed a ballot. Those who renew membership on-site at the conference may request a paper ballot. National Candidates and By-laws Change In addition to your UMEA Board voting, we encourage you to vote in the NAfME election process that is currently on-line. An email message was sent to NAfME members on Monday, January 8 (so check your email). The NAfME elections include voting for the National President-Elect and for the Western Division President-Elect. There is also a vote for a by-laws change. It is NAfME policy that there is no "campaigning" for candidates running for office. Since the by-laws change is recommended by the NEB, the following statement is permitted: “For about ten years now, a succession of Western Division Presidents has advocated that NAfME treat all divisions in the same manner on the National Executive Board (NEB). We have asked that the Northwestern, Southwestern and Western Division Past Presidents serve in full voting capacity for their two years in these positions, just as their Eastern, North Central and Southern Division Past President counterparts currently do. The Bylaw Amendment on this year’s NAfME ballot would accomplish this goal and equalize the service and voting rights for all division past presidents. The NEB has recommended approval, and I know I speak for all Western Division Presidents of the last ten years in also recommending approval of this amendment. —Russ Sperling NAfME Western Division President 2016-18” Thank you all for taking the time to be involved in the election process of your professional association. Rhonda Rhodes, President UMEA