In much of the English speaking world November 11th is called Remembrance Day. Here in the United States we celebrate Veterans Day. In both cases the day was first called Armistice Day to mark the day that the guns fell silent at the end of the First World War. No matter what day you celebrate, we honor those who served, those who continue to serve, and those who fell in the cause of Freedom.
Zec Sec Observations
I want to remind everyone of the important news that was published last week:
2020 Member Bands are now 2021 Member Bands: 2020 band membership is rolled over to 2021 with no additional cost to bands. It will take a couple of weeks to make the changes to the membership list so this will not appear immediately.
50% Dues Reduction for Renewal or New Band Memberships: Bands who are joining the EUSPBA for 2021 will see a 50% reduction of the membership dues at the time they join. (Remember, there is also a reduction for joining before January 1st)
Steven McWhirter Project Subscription for Bands: Each member EUSPBA band will be entitled to one Steven McWhirter subscription at no charge. There is a limited number and bands must apply by sending me an email (zecsec@euspba.org) with the name and email of the band member who is to receive the band subscription.
Thank you to the bands who have expressed their interest in the Steven McWhirter subscription. If you haven’t done so yet, please do. Note: This offer also applies to new and renewing bands. Renew for 2021 to take advantage of Steven’s service. I’ll be sending out to the band designated member the information of how to access the subscription this coming week.
All of the EUSPBA Branches except Metro and Mid Atlantic have now had their Branch AGM’s. Metro and Mid Atlantic will have theirs this Sunday.
2020 Virtual EUSPBA AGM: The EUSPBA 2020 AGM will be held on December 4th and 5th. We’ll be using the online platform GoToMeeting with which many of you may be familiar. Although everyone misses the opportunity to meet face-to-face, this year’s AGM has the potential to b the largest attended AGM in the EUSPBA’s history.
The format will be the same as past years in person events. At 7:00 EST (6:00 CST), the meeting will be opened by President Dillahey to be followed by reports from all members of the Executive Committee. There will be opportunity to ask questions of each of the presenters. In past years, these reports took about two hours. What is not known is how the virtual format will add to this time frame.
Saturday morning will start at 9:00 EST (8:00 CST). New elected EC members (or returning ones) will take office at this time. The first thing on the agenda will be the presentation of Branch proposals. It is the hope of the EC, owing to the virtual format, that the original presenters of proposals at the branch AGM’s will be able to do the same as this time. Here is where things will get interesting. It has been literally decades since EUSPBA has had a quorum at the AGM. Again, because of the virtual format, there is the distinct possibility of that happening this year. Let’s examine the two possible scenarios.
With quorum: the proposals are presented as motions. They can be voted up, voted down, amended, referred to the Executive Committee and/or Music Board for further action. These last items require additional motions.
Without quorum: the proposals cannot be “killed” by the attending members. Instead, after discussion, proposals are referred to the EC and/or MB for further action.
In the coming weeks a registration will be started. You must preregister for this AGM. Only those individuals who register will receive the link to access the AGM. I believe that there will be separate links for Friday and Saturday. The Executive Secretary, as at an in person AGM, will serve as moderator. All participants will be muted. People who wish to ask questions or speak to proposals will virtually “raise their hands.” When they are recognized, their microphone will be unmuted. All others will remain muted. Yes, it will be confusing at first but I recently attended a meeting similar to our AGM with over 500 participants, and once we all got over the initial strangeness, things went well. There will certainly be more information to come.
EUSPBA Elections: This is the last week to turn in your ballots. This is your association, please vote. Again, here are the candidates: For President: Jim Dillahey – Jim is a EUSPBA judge and the current president. For Vice President: Tom Burnham – Tom is currently serving on the Executive Committee as an Officer-at-Large. Bill Caudill – Bill is a EUSPBA piping judge and Southern Branch Chairman. Marc Dubois – Marc is a EUSPBA piping and midsection judge. For Recording Secretary: Stephanie Valley – Stephanie is the current EUSPBA Recording Secretary. For Officer-at-Large: Derek Cooper – Derek is a EUSPBA snare judge. Follow the links to see a candidate’s statement. (Candidate Statements or http://euspba.org/2020-exec-election/ )
Piobaireachd Society Live-Streamed Recital: One good thing about this Covid year is the opportunity to hear some great music in our own living rooms. Rob Wallace has announced that the Piobaireachd Society has planned a live-streamed recital on November 29th at 7:30 p.m. (UK time). Scheduled to perform are Sandy Cameron, Agnus MacColl, Cameron Macdougall, and Iain Speirs. Tickets can be found at the Society’s website https://www.piobaireachd.co.uk/product/st-cecilias-hall-recital-of-ceol-mor-november-29-2020. For more information, check out the linked flyer. (Flyer)
EUSPBA Sanctioned Virtual Piping and Drumming Contests:
Please Note: There has been a change in the recording times for Battle of the Bayou. The rules addenda for virtual contests can be found at the following link. (Rule Addenda) The entire EUSPBA Competition Rules and Regulations can also be found at the link (Rule Book) or on the EUSPBA website (euspba.org)
Battle of the Bayou - Virtual - November 21-22 (Results). Recordings made between November 11th at 8:00 a.m. through November 16th at noon. Information can be found at http://BattleOfTheBayou.com Sanctioned Contest.
Dunedin Virtual Highland Games – November 23 (Results). Entries closed. Recordings made between November 13th and 16th. Entry at dunedinhighlandgames.com
Additional information at dhgvirtualcontest2020@google.com. Sanctioned Contest
In Person Contest: On November 21st, the Dunedin Scottish Festival is running a small in person contest. Registration can be found at www.dunedincelticmusicfestival.com. Sanctioned Contest
This Weekend - Have a great weekend and Be Well; Be Safe!
You Know the Drill… Keeping Piping and Drumming And Don’t forget to share this email!