Keith Ward
“We are CMS” is a theme often seen in my monthly messages. I am humbled and proud of contributions by so many members whose work sustains, invigorates, and challenges us through committee work, publications, conference participation, and governance. Recognition and praise are well due.
This month, as a new academic year begins its two-month rollout, I return to this theme, this time to feature some colleagues who are our unsung heroes: the CMS professional staff.
Thanks to an initiative by Executive Director Bill Pelto, the sheen of their anonymity has been removed from our website. There now are pictures, brief job descriptions, and short bios of the staff in Missoula. These are the individuals who work behind the scenes, day in and day out, to maintain our operations: the online directory of music faculty in the US and Canada, the weekly Music Vacancy List, membership services, our website, logistics behind the regional, national, international conferences and summits, our publications (Symposium, Books and Monographs, monthly updates), webinars, the NAMM-GenNext partnership, and more. They balance the books and keep our online presence robust and secure.
I invite you to get to know them. More important, I invite you to join me in thanking them for their longtime service and dedication. Their work enables us to do ours.
Best wishes for a pleasant close to the summer and a successful start to the coming academic year!