Winter 2009 issue
REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT-ELECT
Debbie Benkovitz, LSW, MT-BC
Happy New Year! I enjoyed seeing many of you at the AMTA conference in St. Louis, and look forward to seeing even more of you at the MAR conference. I had the opportunity to sit in many meetings while in St. Louis, learning more about our organization and the dedicated people who serve and contribute in numerous ways. Even though I sometimes sound like a broken record, I continue to be amazed by the dedication of our members to the MAR and AMTA, and I am thankful to be surrounded by so many good people.
Among the many people to whom I am grateful are the Constitution and Bylaws committee members, Kathy Murphy, Brian Abrams, Barb Maclean, Sue Shuttleworth, Eleanor Dennis and Carole Thomas. They get out their fine-toothed combs and go over the Constitution and Bylaws again and again, refining the document and keeping it current. We had quite a discussion this past year regarding which Executive Board member we would remove as an officer in order to be in compliance with Delaware state law. Please take a moment to check out the proposed changes to the Constitution in this issue. If you have any questions, additions or suggestions after reading them, feel free to contact me. The proposed Bylaws changes will be posted on the MAR website at a later time. The website is attractive and engaging thanks to webmaster Felice Macera, and it is a pleasure to check out any time.
Winter can be a challenge for me. The long hours of darkness and cold temperatures gnaw at me sometimes. But I warm up immediately when I think about gathering with the music therapy community of the Mid-Atlantic in Richmond, Virginia in a couple of months! I hope that 2009 is a year of prosperity and peace for you. Happy New Year, and I’ll see you soon!