Thoughts From Your President ~
Ah, June – the mix of past and present, what was and what will be, with a mix of what is. It is spring and summer; completions, graduations, and celebrations; new beginnings and anticipated plans. It is the finish of a school year, the beginning of a new job or the retiring of a familiar one. It is the grand pause between the past and the future. It is the sorting out time, the reflection time, the thinking about what’s ahead time. It is about keeping a new normal while change goes on around us.
For WSMTA, June is the time for transition and change. Our fiscal year ends and the new budget year begins. Our MTNA membership year ends and a new one starts. Our officer and chair positions find a rotation in June at the local and state levels. And so, with the June conference we will have elections to bring about transition and change for the new year. As I complete my term as WSMTA President, another (Kira Miller, NCTM) will move into the spot. Time moves on!
I have been honored and humbled to represent WSMTA as President working with intelligent, creative, and friendly members at the national, district, and local association levels. Just as there was a first and is a last day, there has been a lot of in between that could not have happened without the strength and guidance of those who came before me, and who graciously offered advice and assistance, and those who walked beside me: the Board of Directors during the past two years, various chairs, chapter presidents and officers, and WSMTA members who reached out with encouragement, direction, thoughtful input, warnings, and humor.
Besides working together with collective passion and vision as teachers and musicians, we carry a counterpoint of life-balancing concerns in the personal, family, school, work, health, relational, emotional, and physical areas, among others. Our stories and lives intertwine, and through WSMTA we offer affirmation, courage, and resilience to remain committed, to pursue goals and dreams, to succeed in small and large ways, and overall, to make a difference.
That is what you have inspired in me! And while I close this chapter, I look forward to the next which includes being present, giving encouragement, and assisting and providing direction so that our vision remains focused and our members, our students, and our communities are resourced and allowed to flourish and thrive.
Thank you, WSMTA, for your gift of music, of collaboration, of friendship!
You are a treasure in my life and bring me joy as I reflect during my “June.”
Gratefully,
Colleen Hunter, NCTM
WSMTA President