Greetings

The final bell has been rung and the 2019 Area 10 Conference is closed. It was a small but mighty group of ringers that met at Everett Community College last weekend. Now I've spent the last two days returning borrowed equipment and storing my own in their closets. I arrived home to a dinner of 15 of my wife's relatives. One, from out of town, asked me what was the high point of our conference. After thinking about it for a few minutes I thought of a couple of "high" points.

First, is working with the board of Area 10. All of our Executive Board (except Chair-Elect Barb), our state chairs and our committee chairs were there. It was great to jump in with them, "schleping" bells and equipment, setting and resetting classrooms, handling the day-to-day problems, teaching classes and filling holes on the ringing floor. A special thanks to our Event Coordinator, Diane Barnes, who did most of the planning for the event.

Second, hearing the satisfied comments from our guests after taking classes. "Oh, that's how you hold 4-in hand" or "I finally learned to weave". For the first time we offered accreditation tracks in conducting and basic technique. Thanks to Ellie Hodder and Sheri Roach for setting these up and teaching them.

Next, listening to some great concerts. Friday evening, Emerald City Ringers under the baton of Brian Tervo, presented a wonderful potpourri of classical and pop pieces with just the right amount of humor thrown in. Their finale, The Loco-motion, arranged by Brian, had the whole audience, young and old, singing along and doing the "motions". Saturday's Showcase Concert featured duets, a full choir solo and a presentation by the Bronze Conference Choir directed by our guest conductor Sondra Tucker. It was hard to believe that with only 10 or so hours of rehearsal they presented a concert of 9 pieces. I hear that some are still quaking as they think of Blaze by William Kyle. Then on Sunday afternoon the Final Concert featured Coppers, Tins, Bronze and Massed ringers under the direction of Sondra and Matthew Compton. I was fortunate to fill a vacancy in a Coppers level choir and found the music challenging and fun.

Lastly, was meeting and greeting old friends and new. Elaine, who used to ring in our church bell, now moved to Bellingham, was there. Folks that I usually see once a year at Distinctly Bronze/West were there. The nice ladies from the Rainier Ringers at the table in front of me are new acquaintances. Tina, who sat patiently while I talked about maintaining Schulmerich bells, was there. A gentleman from the Yakima area inquired about becoming the Washington State Chair (more about that next month if he decides to go through with it). Also the Handbell Musicians of America National Board was represented by Jennifer Vangolen. We put her to work filling a vacancy on the Massed Ringing floor. I got to visit and compare Area notes with our guest conductor Sondra who is from Memphis, TN. All-in-all a wonderful meet of the handbell "fraternity".

And so, it's on to National! I'm pleased that a number of our board members will be in St. Louis for the National Conference. Next month's newsletter will hopefully contain some stories and input from that event.

Until then, Happy ringing (or enjoying a summer break)

Glen