The Southern Branch has scheduled the first of a series of Piping Worksops for the Coastal Region, to be held on February 9, 2013 at The Citadel in Charleston, SC. Get your competition season off to a great start with instructors Jimmy MacIntosh MBE, Joyce MacIntosh and Jim Dillahey.
As the incoming Southern Branch Chairman, I would first like to thank the outgoing Branch Chairman, Albert McMullin. He has done a fine job of leading the Branch for a number of years and has overseen a good bit of positive growth. I hope to build off of his efforts and keep the Southern Branch on the right track. I also would like to recognize Doug Ross who won the recent election to be the next Southern Branch Chairman but resigned due to changes in his professional life.
My main focus will be trying to offer more educational opportunities to the Branch throughout the year in smaller regional workshops. The idea behind this is that they will be day trips for the attendees rather than full weekend affairs which are generally more costly (hotel, food, and gas). I am looking forward to the challenges of this job and will be relying on not only the Southern Branch Officers, but the members as well to brainstorm new ideas for the future while keeping what is working intact. I will always be open to new ideas and methods to get the job done, so if you have an idea please feel free to get in touch with me!
I would also like to introduce the Southern Branch Officers to you, though you probably already know all of them since they have been fixtures at about every Games in the South for many years.
Chair: Jim Dillahey
Secretary: John Guerry
Treasurer: Tom Crawford
Officer at Large: Jon Shell
Officer at Large: Grace Washam
Monitor Coordinator: Debbie Hahn
Don’t Forget that the Southern Branch AGM will be held on Sunday September 16, 2012 at 8:30am at the Holiday Inn in Mt Pleasant SC. This is the host hotel for the Charleston Games. We will be electing officers, discussing items for the EUSPBA AGM, and making plans for the future of the branch. Please join us on Sunday morning and make your voice heard.
The current term of office for the Southern Branch Chairman will expire in August 2012. The Chair has indicated that he does not plan to run for re-election at that time. If you have an interest in running for this position, please contact Andrea Jones, chair of the Nominating Committee. Andrea and the committee can answer your questions on the nominating process or what is involved in holding a Branch office.
The election will be held at the Southern Branch AGM . The deadline to submit your name for consideration is July 30, 2012.
The Southern Branch officers have implemented the following policy for all Southern Branch games, effective immediately: “If a competitor is unable to provide a valid membership number prior to or on games day and if the competitor states he/she has already submitted his/her dues, the benefit of the doubt will be given to the competitor. If it is subsequently determined the competitor did not pay his/her dues by the date in question, the matter will be referred to the Executive Committee for disciplinary action.” Under this policy, all the monitor need do is note the name of the person on the monitor reimbursement form and send it on.”
Monitors for 2012 Southern Branch Games are now listed on our Contacts page. If you would like to become a monitor, or would like more information on the Monitor program, Please contact Deb Hahn, our Monitor Coordinator.
Our site Resources page has been updated with the Branch Expense Report and the 2011 Branch AGM Minutes.
The Southern Branch ‘Best Practices Workshop’ Scheduled for March 31 has been postponed. While there was a lot of interest shown in the workshop, we simply had too few registrations to proceed. We plan to regroup and reorganize and present the workshop at a later date. We are developing new methods of presenting workshops and events, so keep watching this site and the EUSPBA calendar for new events in the Southern Branch.
Join us in Lexington SC (just outside Columbia) on March 31 for a “Best Practices Workshop” with Dave and Linda Hall and Eric Knudsen. We’ll explore practices to improve your playing, both in a band and as an individual. The instructors are the leaders of the very successful Ulster Scottish Pipe Band. Download the registration form now.
Winter Taylor, known as Winkie to all, passed away this morning after a massive stroke. Winter made a major impact in the Atlanta piping community as an instructor and performer. She was a former EUSPBA Southern Branch Chair, and coordinated the Southern Branch Workshop for many years. She worked with the National Piping Centre to bring their school to Atlanta, and recently formed the Atlanta Bagpipe Ensemble. Arrangements will be posted here as they become available.
The EUSPBA/Northeast Branch is hosting a “COMPOSITION COMPETITION” to establish a EUSPBA Massed Band Drum Salute. The intention is to play it at highland games, concerts, or performances and the deadline for submission is the AGM in November 2012. The prizes are:
The first prize entry will be declared the “EUSPBA 50th Anniversary Salute”. Continue reading
