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Volume 17 • Issue 2 • Spring 2024
Notes from the Chair
To all Area 11 ringers!!
In this article I will share the names of fantastic people running for elections.
First, I want to give a shout-out for three of our Spring Rings that have taken place.
In the month of March. Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico had successful Spring Rings and all events have increased in numbers since last year. Thrilling. In May, Arizona and Wyoming will hold their massed ring events and already have many registrations. There is still time to register. These events would not be successful without the demanding work of the Event chairs; Andrew Smith (Utah), Anne Kleve (Colorado) Nancy Roberts-Small (New Mexico), Lynne Storms (Arizona) and Carolyn Deuel (Wyoming). Thank you so much for your dedicated service.
Elections will take place April 5 to May 5.
For Chair-Elect:
Sara Oedekoven (Wyoming)
Lynne Storms (Arizona)
For Treasurer:
Shirley Culp (Colorado)
Jill Persichetti (Colorado)
There are also slight changes in the by-laws that are important to vote on. Please look these over and vote yes or no as well as selecting one of our nominees to vote for.
You will receive instructions to log onto the Handbell Musicians.org website to vote.
There has been an upsurge in attendance at all our events and the Area 11 board is hopeful that you are enjoying what we are offering.
We hope to see you in Salt Lake City for the June 2024 Area 11 Festival.
Keep Ringing.
LeAnna Willmore, Area 11 Chair
Festival Updates
We were very saddened at the sudden passing of Tim Waugh. He was scheduled to be our clinician for Area 11 Festival this summer. We will take some time to honor Tim by keeping the same music he picked out. We have two wonderful clinicians that have stepped up in our time of need: Kevin McChesney and Stevie Berryman. Each ringing track will work with both of them!
We currently have 100 ringers registered! Bell assignments are being triple checked and will be sent out very soon. Watch your email for important messages from Anne Kleve: [email protected]. Due to demand, we are adding more teachers and additional classes!
Reminder: Balances are Due in Full by May 1st!
Make sure you have all your music already or ordered soon. And you’ve made your hotel reservations! Festival Information
Highlight: We do still have space for the “Saturday Only” option!
Saturday ONLY Registration:$150
Although we hope you will want to have the Full Festival experience, a Saturday ONLY option is available which includes six classes, ringing track observation for Saturday ONLY and Saturday lunch. Professional Development Credit available for educators through Area 11 HMA for 8 hours! Tickets to Saturday Evening Ring of Fame Banquet are available for an additional fee. Registration must be paid in full online or postmarked on or before May 1, 2024.
Follow our social media for fun behind-the-scenes information.
Any questions- email Events Chair: Anne Kleve
Ensemble Spotlight
In the fall of 1994, Fremont High School opened with much excitement. During the first year a seed was planted that would eventually grow into an exciting and unique program within the Weber School District. It all started with a visit from a Schulmerick representative paying a visit to the school while doing some repairs on the Weber State University’s Carillon tower. Diane Soleberg, then band teacher, had used handbells while working as a music therapist and was hoping to see what the possibilities would be of beginning a program at Fremont. Cost prohibited the purchase of any handbells at the time and the dream was set aside but not forgotten.
Spring Rings
Two states still have an upcoming Spring Ring. Click Here or on the image to get more details!
CHIME Loan Program
NO JOKE, we have chimes to loan. If you know someone that is interested in starting a chime choir, or maybe you’d like to try that yourself, we can help! Area 11 has several sets of handchimes to loan. Just head over to our CHIME Loan Program page and fill out an application!
Happy Spring!
Although it may not feel like it yet, spring is officially here! The weather is warming up, snow is melting, flowers are blooming, and our Area is getting filled with wonderful music! Spring is a time of change, and this spring holds a lot of exciting change for our Area. This month we have our Area 11 Elections where you will get to choose our next Secretary-Treasurer and Chair Elect. After this election, we will be looking for volunteers to fill a few open positions on our board. If you are interested in serving our Area, feel free to contact myself and our wonderful Chair so we can consider it in our next few meetings.
Since our last newsletter, we’ve had a lot of great events and announcements. We had a very successful Sight-Reading Saturday across our 5 states. We also had an amazing Spring Ring in New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado with some outstanding clinicians! If you missed out on either of these events, we still have two Spring Rings in Arizona on May 4 and Wyoming on May 24-25.
Our Area 11 Festival is also quickly approaching. This event will take place from June 13 – 16 in Salt Lake City, Utah. With two wonderful clinicians, some great repertoire, and engaging classes, this is going to be a worthwhile event! My favorite part of our Area Festival is the Ring of Fame Dinner on Saturday night. The Ring of Fame award is a prestigious recognition awarded to someone who has made outstanding handbell and handchime contributions to our Area. This year, the Ring of Fame will be awarded to Claudette Rothwell. Claudette has served our Area in many different capacities through serving as the Chair, Chair Elect, and Event Planner in which she was instrumental in founding our Area 11 Youth Ringers Camp. Claudette is still serving our Area as she is currently helping our Events Chair wrangle equipment for our upcoming festival. She is very deserving of this award, and we are excited to celebrate her at our Ring of Fame Dinner at our upcoming Festival. Even if you aren’t attending the festival, I highly recommend attending the dinner as it gives an opportunity to dress up in fancy attire and share a great meal with our Area leaders and ringers! If you’re interested in attending, you can find all of the information here: https://area11.handbellmusicians.org/festival/
As I mentioned in our last newsletter, HMA members get a special registration price on all of our events! According to our National Organization, March is the biggest renewal month for members. If you have any membership questions or you’re curious about joining, I am always here to help! It’s a good idea to periodically check your membership status to make sure it is up to date. Here are some instructions to quickly check it and renew your membership:
1. Log on to https://handbellmembers.org/
2. Log In with the Gold “Sign In” button on the top right corner of your screen.
3. Press “My Account” on the left side of the screen.
4. Check your membership with the white “Membership” box on the right side of your screen. From that box, you can sign up for Auto-Renew, Upgrade your membership or renew it for another year.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out and I can help! I look forward to connecting with everyone via email, membership or at our upcoming events! Enjoy Spring and all of the wonderful changes it brings!
Love and Bells,
Anne Kelley
2024 Ring of Fame Recipient
Area 11 is pleased to announce Claudette Rothwell as our 2024 Ring of Fame Recipient. She will be celebrated at our Ring of Fame Dinner on Saturday, June 15, 2024 at our Area 11 Ringing Up Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah. You can learn more about Claudette and her accomplishments here: https://area11.handbellmusicians.org/ring-of-fame/
Joyfully Ring!
News from National
The National Seminar Site is Now Live!
Bookmark this site for all things related to our summer activities in Hartford:
https://seminar.handbellmusicians.org/
- Classes – 63 to choose from
- Ringing Opportunities – beginning, intermediate, advanced, All-Star
- Handbell Commons – see which Exhibiting Partners are attending and who is offering showcases
- Master Series details
- Distinctly Teen information
- And so much more!
Upcoming Board Meetings
Newsletter Archive
Click here to see any of our previous newsletters from 2012-2021.
Articles for Newsletter
Want to share an exciting experience or tips and tricks with our handbell community?
Deadline to add articles for the newsletter is the 25th of the previous month. Articles may be submitted to the Communications Chair in .doc format and with an picture of the author in .jpg format.