Membership News

by Deb Madel
Area 7 Membership Chair
[email protected]

Happy Spring! Well, according to the calendar, it is spring. Today it is cloudy, cold and rainy. Hopefully we start seeing some sunshine and warmer temperatures soon. I am your newest Membership Chairperson, having taken the reins from Sondra Joten in November 2019. A huge thank you to Sondra for covering the month of October for me as I traveled and for patiently training me as I took over this position. I am excited to be back on the board working alongside the wonderful and talented people who lead Area 7. They are amazing! Make sure you thank them when you see them at a rehearsal or an event.

The latest Area 7 membership report for March indicates that we are 308 members strong, including individuals and organizations alike. Wouldn’t it be great if we could grow that number to include even more people! So, don’t be shy…encourage new members by asking personally. Share with them the benefits and joy that being part of this nation- wide team can be. Group memberships … Individual memberships … full-time student memberships … sub-memberships … HIC (Handbell Industry Council) memberships … retirees … etc. There’s something for everyone!

Beginning in our fiscal year 2020 (October 1, 2019– September 30, 2020), the HMA organization changed the schedule for membership renewal. Rather than renewing memberships every month of the year, they moved everyone to a March 31 renewal date. This provides several benefits for the organization by reducing mailing and invoice costs, adding overall efficiency, and making fiscal planning easier for the office/national membership personnel. If you have questions about your membership, please contact Kim Braswell the West Region Membership Coordinator at [email protected], your Area 7 SAC (see Area 7 Board for contact info), or me. Also please remember to update your contact information if you have made changes!

I am guessing that most of you are not currently ringing due to social distancing and isolation restraints. It is HARD to be apart from handbell friends and not making music! Keep in touch and support each other. You can also check out the HMA’s Events page for information to participate in Handbell Happy Hour, and Member Chats.

Hopefully we will be ringing together again soon!