President’s Report

Festival 2011

This year was again a delightful year, with the number of participants about the same as last year. We had some concurrent sessions to accommodate the Easter Holiday but it all worked out well. I would first like to thank the Members of the Board of Directors who put in many hours of work and attended regular meetings to make plans for the Festival. There is always a greater workload during some parts of the year but everyone worked hard and their efforts paid off. I would especially like to thank Terry Andrews who does the typing, printing, and assembling of our
syllabus and program. Her work with us is invaluable and we very much appreciate her willingness in giving so much time to SCFPA.

We hear comments of how well the young people behave and complement our participants who come prepared and listen very respectfully to and are most supportive of other performers. They are a credit to their parents and teachers. Parents too should be thanked for the time they take to drive their children to lessons and performances.

I extend our appreciation to and thank all our volunteers who help us especially during the Festival. Dorothy Fraser managed to get us several new volunteers this year which helped us greatly. We had a very good group of adjudicators again this year. They were pleasant and upbeat and took time to critique performances in a kind and supportive manner. Their comments in pointing them to things they might do to improve their performances were excellent. They were all encouraging and gave good comments that will, I am sure, help to keep the students continuing their musical and dance studies.

Fund raising produced sufficient funds for the Festival and, in these harder economic times, we were
pleased with the result of our campaign. There have been many businesses and individuals who have
very consistently supported SCFPA over many years. There is a list of all the supporters on our website.

Now to the more serious problem we face. Volunteer involvement seems to be decreasomg, not only with us but with many organizations that depend on volunteers to keep going. Almost from the beginning of my time with SCFPA, I have been looking for someone who could take on the work of the president and have not been successful. I have had a great deal of help, not only looking for a new president but also for other executive members. We are currently without a fund raiser and one or two members at large. We do not have Discipline Chairs for Strings, Piano, Electronic and Acoustic or Choral. I am sure you realize that operating with a Board that has so many vacancies has put additional work on serving board members. We would very much appreciate any help you could give us in finding people who could either be on the Board or help in some way.. For example, if you have computer skills you might volunteer to help us by typing fund raising letters or certificates for each participant. You might also recommend someone.

Finally, thanks to our members for you wonderful support.

Norma Mercer