First, let me publicly recognize and thank Mrs. Thelma Hicks and the Jester Haiston Branch for hosting the 1998 convention here in Las Vegas. Would you all please stand.

Who Are We? This question is one that continually reminds me of the blessings that have been this organization’s for more than 79 years. We are many things which are both the result of the genesis and the metamorphosis of NANM over the challenging years of the past. So many great things have occurred and continue to occur in the life of NANM which should make us all proud. NANM is the only national organization of African American musicians which has as a basic component of its make-up a commitment to developing young musicians through its Junior, Youth and Collegiate Divisions and which holds as a part of its on-site convention activities, programs and endeavors which are specifically dedicated to these areas. NANM has been blessed with leadership given by African Americans who have been at the vanguard of the most fertile musical activity in America. Its membership represents a diverse cross-section of musical enthusiasts from the patron of the arts, studio teacher and church musician to nationally and internationally acclaimed performing artists, educators, composers and researchers. Its diversity is a good thing which should indeed be celebrated. Add to this NANM’s ongoing commitment to specifically nurture the musical output of African Americans. NANM has taken its national convention into more than 40 cities and communities across America. It should be held with pride that in its 79 year history, NANM has awarded over 170 scholarships and financial awards. As great as this endeavor may seem, one could plausibly argue that while this is good, it is no more than what should be done; for who should be more committed to furthering the growth and careers of young African American musicians than an organization, which in its original mission and purpose has defined this as one of its primary goals. Yes, there is so much which can be said about the achievements of NANM, but we must not rest on the laurels of past and present achievements for there remains so much to be done. As we approach the end of this century, we must do some earnest soul-searching and take a critical look at who we are. What does NANM look like? This question brings rise to some serious realities which must be addressed if this organization is to survive and grow. NANM is an organization whose core membership continues to grow older. Many of NANM’s finest and most committed members have passed on or realized debilitating physical demise over the past ten years. While many have left us, the influx of new members has not been proportionate to our contemporary needs. We must be willing to share the tremendous wealth of wisdom and experience within this organization with new, young, enthusiastic members who may lack experience but who possess fresh ideas and the zeal to continue NANM’s legacy as we seek to reach new goals. We celebrate our interests in programs for young people, yet there are too few young people who remain members of NANM beyond the days of their youth to become productive and contributing adult members of this organization. NANM must redouble its efforts to identify funding sources and other available resources which will support the furtherance of young peoples activities. This should not be something which only occurs for a week at the national convention. More time, energy and expertise must be given to developing ongoing young peoples programs throughout the year, both locally and nationally. If we objectively consider the current state of affairs in this country as regards the arts, education and African Americans, we will be compelled to acknowledge that the public schools and post-secondary institutions relegate artistic endeavors to diversions of low priority and increasingly fail to nurture sufficient educational programs for new young musical talent. Many of our Black Church and community programs no longer provide the training and proving grounds for young talent. What happened to the days when the center of cultural and social activity was the church? Where is the place that, as in my own background, a frightened youth, attempting to grasp music, would be given the opportunity to display his or her talents, and though a flawed presentation, an indulging and encouraging congregation of the community would nod their heads in approval to simply say "that’s all right; you’re gonna be something great someday"? No room is made for honing young musical talent in contemporary mega-churches where the aim of some religious leaders is that of generating increasingly larger membership numbers and where the worship service has become a worship production. In the very arenas where these remissals have occurred, we find our greatest problems. It has become a catch twenty-two circumstance. Enrollment numbers of African Americans in institutions of higher education continue to drop significantly, especially in the areas of music and the arts. Our churches face a serious dilemma from the loss of qualified, well-trained musicians who can both improvise and read the notes on the written page. Fewer new African American talent is being seen on the concert stage and in the opera houses of America. An even greater concern is that the pool of qualified teachers in these arenas continues to dwindle. We must do more to reverse and contain these trends.

NANM must expand its endeavors in the areas of proposal writing and grantsmanship, seeking to identify the most proficient proposal writers and creative minds who offer new ideas for special projects within and outside of its membership. I have sat on many grants panels at local, statewide and national levels, and it saddens me that an average of less than 3% of the proposals submitted to public funding sources come from African American organizations. These funding sources are provided by taxpayers dollars. WE PAY TAXES TOO!! Every branch of NANM should seek to obtain its own 501 (c) 3 status as a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, so that each branch may reduce costs on otherwise taxable purchases and take full advantage of all available local and regional funding sources. These financial resources would aid local programming, special programs for young people and administrative support to improve the operational efficiency of the organization. If I am to remain your president, this will become a priority goal of NANM.

What do we look like? Quite candidly speaking, too much literature and music are generated in the name of NANM which are of poor professional quality in appearance and sound, and some printed literature provide little or no substantive information. We are viewed by many from without as a closed organization which serves itself more than the larger community. It can be truthfully said that NANM has many wonderful programs which have been too closely held as musical America’s best kept secrets. As I have already stated, we have too much to celebrate and too much to be done to function as an island unto ourselves. More people across this country need to know about us.

If we are going to attract new members of the highest ilk and commitment, these things can and must be improved.

As your president over the past two years, I have not aimed for lofty and costly projects which leave us proud but penniless. While the very best of musical programming and similar ventures must remain high on our list of concerns, we have a lot of general housekeeping to do before company can be comfortably invited in. Therefore, it has been my aim to improve the efficiency of NANM in every level, by providing comprehensive information to both its members and those who may wish to know more about the organization. I am proud to say that through the tireless efforts of the Policies and Procedures Committee and your Board of Directors, we have generated a Manual of Policies and Procedures which will improve the efficiency of NANM through providing valuable information on all aspects of NANM’s operation. This document is an organic document which makes it possible to simply amend and append any new policies and/or procedures to what is now in place. Each section of this document has been color-coded for quick reference to information on specific topics. I have worked very closely with Mrs. Fredericka Hurley, who has been appointed National Membership Coordinator, to generate an attractive and informative publicity brochure on the National Association of Negro Musicians. A sample of that brochure has been made available to each of you for your perusal at this convention. It is my strong contention that NO person, whether it be a potential member, media source or other concern, should inquire about NANM and not be provided with an informative, and most importantly, professional looking document for information on this great organization. As a priority vehicle for new membership, I am requesting that every branch and every region appoint a capable and willing person, with good interpersonal skills as your Branch and/or Regional Membership Coordinator. This person would interface and work very closely with the National Membership Coordinator, 2nd Vice-president for Branches and Regional Directors to open the doors for new members and new branches throughout your respective jurisdictions.

One of the new occurrences of which I am most proud is the new NANM Website, created by Dr. Calvin B. Grimes. If you have not already done so, you must see this excellent display of NANM. The Website address is:

http://www.edtech.morehouse.edu/cgrimes/

This site contains information on virtually every aspect of NANM, including National, Regional and Local officers, its history, all of NANM’s programs such as scholarships and convention venues and it is so designed that in the next year, it may even be possible for you to make convention hotel reservations on-line.

Past presidents, most notably, Dr. Willis Patterson, persistently made admirable efforts to create an Endowed Scholarship Fund which would insure the continuance of the annual Scholarship Competition for years to come, without relying solely on revenue generated from the membership dues on a year to year basis. This has been and will remain a dangerous posture, especially in times when the financial health of the organization suffers a blow. I embraced the efforts of Dr. Patterson and others as part of my agenda. I issued a challenge to the NANM Board of Directors to work diligently between the January Mid-winter Board Meeting and the convention to solicit contributions for an Endowed Scholarship Fund. I offered to double the amount sought be each. I am pleased to report that your Board of Directors has raised pledges and contributions in the amount of $6,500. Likewise, by resolution of the Board, these funds may only be used for the purpose of funding the annual scholarship competition.

Notable among board contributors are Mr. Daniel Long ($1,305.00), Mrs. Jowanda Jordan of Dallas Metroplex ($500.00), Mr. James Butler of W. Russell Johnson ($300.00), Mrs. Mercedes Keeler (a pledge of $500.000), and individual contributions from Past President Brazeal Dennard ($200.00) and Mrs. Miriam Elcock, who walked up this morning and expressed her desire to support the scholarship fund with a check for $200.00. I must publicly recognize one of my contributors which I am proud to call my church. In addition to individual contributions from its members, The Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta, Dr. Joseph L. Roberts, Pastor, has pledged a contribution of $1,000.00 to the Fund. Further pledges, about which you will hear more later, have been made by the Friendship Baptist Church and the Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta. This fundraising effort on the part of the Board is still ongoing. While I am so proud of these efforts, it is only a beginning. The cost of education and musical study has, like all other areas, increased; therefore, we must begin to think about increasing the amount of our annual scholarship awards. At present, suffice it to say that we need to insure the current financial demands of the scholarship fund. The Endowed Scholarship Fund should be no less than $100,000.00. While this may seem overwhelming, this goal can be achieved. One-hundred churches across the nation like Ebenezer could, alone, endow this fund. I now, want to formally challenge you to follow the precedent set by the Board. Go back to your respective communities, churches, to relatives, companies and any possible contributors and solicit support for this Fund. You will find that there are many within our communities who really believe in this program and who would be willing to make contributions, no matter how small. You may be amazed at what your churches and community organizations will do. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know. "Seek and ye shall find; ask and it shall be given unto you".

Through the efforts of Mr. Dan Long, Assistant Treasurer, and with the assistance of Mrs. Ona B. Campbell, Executive Secretary and Mr. Fred Thomas, National Treasurer, we have been provided with a most thorough and comprehensive operational budget projection for the coming 1998-99 year. I applaud all of you for your efforts. This is important because we must no longer look at what we have and decide what we can do with it; we should look at what we must do, and decide how we will generate the funds to do it. If we do not, we will be forever bound to the parameters of our limited revenue from membership dues and convention registration fees. This budget projection not only shows us our cost expenditures for the past two years, but compares them to our future financial needs. Most importantly, without this projection, we cannot carefully plan and avoid cost over-run.

This year, NANM has a very talented young winner of the Brantley Choral Arranging Competition, thanks to the hard work of Mr. Byron Smith, Brantley Scholarship Coordinator and Mr. Roland Carter, Chair of the Committee on Choral Standards. Mr. Steven McPherson is the 1998 winner of the Brantley Competition. We will hear a performance of his arrangement on the Convention Choral Concert.

I have been in close contact with Dr. Eileen Southern and Dr. Doris Evans McGinty on the progress of the NANM History Research Project. While I regret that this research document has not reached fruition earlier, I am pleased to say that the historians anticipate the completion of this project by the end of the year and plan to have a draft of the completed history available for perusal by the NANM Board at the 1999 mid-winter board meeting.

Lastly, where should we be going? By the year 2000, I anticipate that all of the operations of NANM will be so efficiently set into place that we may make as our priority, the presence of The National Association of Musicians as a truly national and international organization. My new initiatives would be to interface with other National Organizations to conduct collaborative projects which might also include a joint convening of these organizations so that we may all benefit from the wealth of resources provided by each. I envision a summer institute based on a university campus for High School music students, where they may be tutored in the fundamental music subjects; including music theory, music history, sightsinging and eartraining, and applied music instruction and performance. I envision taking advantage of the vast scholarly and artistic resources of the membership of NANM and outside professionals as teachers within this program. I would like to see more interaction on the part of young college students from the Campus Branches of NANM, who may serve as tutors and mentors in our Junior and Youth Divisions. We must begin to move toward the creation of a professional Music Journal which will be a resource for the publication of valuable papers and articles on all aspects of music, especially those pertaining to the music of African Americans. This journal would include the work of our brightest and best scholars and be of the highest professional quality. We must take advantage of more computer resources in our convention activities and business affairs. More must be done to archive the work of this organization through enhanced photographic, videographic and multi-media resources. NANM must work tirelessly to attract new members to the organization. Lastly, but not least, it must be our goal to ALWAYS aim for the highest and best musical presentations and workshops at all levels of NANM, locally, regionally and nationally.

I would be remiss in closing without recognizing those persons who have worked so hard over the past year: The Members of the Policies and Procedures Committee, Mr. Dan Long, Dr. Georgia Ryder and Dr. Calvin Grimes; consultants on Policy and Procedure, Mrs. Ona B. Campbell, Executive Secretary and Dr. David Morrow, Parliamentarian. Mrs. Fredericka Flack Hurley, National Membership Coordinator and the person responsible for the new Publicity Brochure; Dr. Calvin B. Grimes who is already standing, for the new NANM Website. Mr. Dan Long, Assistant Treasurer, for the 1999 Projected Budget, Mr. Byron Smith, Coordinator of the Brantley Choral Arranging Competition and Mr. Roland Carter, Chair of the Committee on Choral Standards; and lastly, your wonderful and hardworking Board of Directors.

The Countdown to the year 2000 is indeed before us. There are many bright and new challenges for NANM. We look forward to the 1999 convention in Houston, Texas, which I hope will be the year of the orchestra. The enthusiastic members of the young Houston Metropolitan Area African American Musicians Association Branch are excited and anxious to work with the national office in hosting their very first convention. Perhaps some of the challenges before us seem overwhelming; there is so much to do and so little time; but we must stay the course and keep the faith. We can make the ordinary become the extraordinary if we work together in harmony and with respect. In seventy-nine years we have come too far to turn around. I encourage you to take heart and take action! Keep your hands on the plow, hold on, hold on, hold on!

(1998-99 Theme: "HOLD ON!")