Looking back ... moving forward.(In Unison)(Music Teachers National Association)

As I sit at my computer to write this last column as MTNA President, so many thoughts race through my mind. Have two years already passed? What haven't I said that I would like to share? What haven't I done that should have been done? Am I glad or sad--perhaps a mixture of both? Where is MTNA compared with two years ago? What have we accomplished the past two years?

First, let me thank you, the members, for your trust and confidence in choosing me to lead this great organization. As a beginning piano teacher nearly forty years ago, I never dreamed I would culminate my career as MTNA president. To those with whom I have had the privilege of working--Board members, Division and State leaders, Chairs of Committees, Competitions personnel, the Certification Commission and the exceptional MTNA staff under Executive Director Gary Ingle--I say THANK YOU for daring to dream and for daring to make changes, even though they might be difficult. THANK YOU for bringing MTNA to a higher level of service and professionalism. The quality of leadership in this association is inspiring. In no other organization have I seen such dedication, willingness to serve and desire to give of time, energy, knowledge and talents to the very fullest. I am enriched beyond belief through this experience.

At the beginning of this term, the MTNA Board of Directors adopted an audacious goal: "MTNA should be the preeminent association for music teaching and the indispensable music resource for the public and the profession." How are we doing? During the past two years, Gary Ingle and I have traveled to China for the premier Beijing Music Festival, sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Culture, and to Italy for the annual conference of the European Piano Teachers Association. We also participated in the MENC-NAMM "International Music Education Policy Symposium" as invited symposium members. We will hold our first joint conference with the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers Associations in Toronto in 2007. MTNA has an invitation to participate in the initial ...