About Us

Director’s Report
Annual Meeting
October 14, 2019
Jack Prindle, Music Director

It has been another busy and successful year for our group. Since our last Annual Meeting on October 15, 2018, we have rehearsed forty-one times, performed thirteen times, and had one recording session. Two rehearsals in February had to be cancelled because of snowy weather and one special rehearsal on a Saturday was added in an effort to make-up for those missed rehearsals. Our “formal concerts” have been arranged in four series, in which the same program has been performed twice, either on a Sunday afternoon and Monday evening, or on consecutive Mondays in Enumclaw and Sumner. The first series was presented on December 16th and 17th, both in the community auditorium at Enumclaw High School. The second series was presented on March 10th and 11th (also at the EHS auditorium). The third series was presented on June 17th (at Rotary Centennial Park in Enumclaw) and June 24th (at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Sumner). The fourth series was presented on August 12th (at Rotary Centennial Park in Enumclaw) and August 19th (at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Sumner). We participated in parades in Enumclaw on December 3rd and July 4th. We performed at ceremonies at Tahoma National Cemetery on Veterans’ Day (November 11th) and on Memorial Day (May 27th) and at the Enumclaw Veterans’ Memorial on May 26th (in honor of Memorial Day). The recording session was held at the Enumclaw High School Auditorium on September 9th.

Our concerts have continued to feature soloists from within the band. In December, Ruth Orozco performed a solo on clarinet with the band. In March, Barb Cotton played a solo on flute with the band.. In June, Leila Liebel played a solo on alto saxophone with the band, and in August, Stephanie Magnusson played a piccolo solo with the band. Assistant conductors Stephanie Magnusson and Todd Frazier very ably conducted the band in several pieces over the past year.

Our fund-raising effort of having band members and concert patrons “sponsor” the music we’re performing has continued to be very successful. According to the records I have compiled, all 31 pieces eligible for sponsorship were sponsored, for a total of $2,855 (at least, by my reckoning).

We have continued to have our indoor concerts professionally recorded and CDs have been available for purchase by members of the band. Our “Summer Favorites of 2019” were recorded, but technical difficulties have delayed delivery of the CDs; they should be delivered to those who ordered one (or more) soon. We also continue to have compilations of our Holiday Favorites and Summer Favorites for sale at our concerts and from our website.

During the past year, we enjoyed “snack and visit” gatherings at the end of our rehearsals on December 9th and June 10th. We also celebrated the 23rd anniversary of the beginning of our group with a “birthday party” at the end of our rehearsal on March 3rd. Our rehearsal on August 5th ended pretty early, so I treated the band to ice cream bars, fudge bars and popsicles. After our recording session on September 9th, we presented Paul Jackson with a card thanking him for his many years of service to the band and enjoyed some cake honoring him.

Since last October, we have added six new members. Sadly, since last October, we have had five players leave us and have dropped a long-absent player from the roster. In terms of instrumentation, we added players of the following instruments: flute, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, tuba and percussion. The players we have lost played the following instruments: clarinet, baritone saxophone, three trumpets and percussion. One player (tuba) joined us for part of the summer and left before this fall. Five players have not been attending (for various reasons) lately, but hopefully will return: two clarinets, two tubas, string bass and percussion.

In terms of instrumentation needs, we would benefit from adding a baritone saxophone player, more clarinet players, more percussion players and another tuba player.

Sometime between 10 AM, Tuesday, Feb. 26th, and 3 PM, Monday, March 4th, someone broke into our equipment trailer where we parked it on a grassy area adjacent to the parking lot of the Nazarene Church. They removed the padlock on the back door/ramp by cutting and wrenching apart one of the hasps. Many of the smaller items were taken, most notably our wonderful Musser bell set, as well as the old bass drum which had been donated to us from Enumclaw Music (originally from the Dieringer School District), a suspended cymbal and stand on loan from Maple Valley Presbyterian Church, a snare drum and stand in a bag, a set of bongos in a bag, a pair of timbale drums in a bag, wind chimes, crash cymbals in a bag and several folding stands for cymbals. Larger items, such as the timpani, chimes, vibraphone, xylophone, and gong were not taken. Surprisingly, none of our music stands were taken either, perhaps because they are painted with a big “GCB” on each stand. The theft was reported to the Enumclaw Police on March 5th and our loss was reported to our insurance agent, American Heritage in Enumclaw. Liberty Mutual, the insurance provider, researched the replacement value of the lost items, and after computing depreciation and subtracting our $500 deductible, sent us a check for $1,904. After hearing about our loss at one of our March concerts, a friend from my Widowed Support Group donated $1,000 to help us replace some of our lost instruments and his gift was matched by Boeing Community Services for another $500. Most of the lost percussion items were replaced in time for our performances for Memorial Day, and the remaining instruments should be replaced soon. The trailer hasp and lock have also been replaced.

Because of the break-in and theft of our trailer, we (the Governing Board and myself) determined to look for a more secure place to park it. The cost of parking it at the secure lot adjacent to where we rent a storage room (Enumclaw Self-Storage) seemed too expensive. We asked at a rehearsal if someone could suggest a better place and Sheri Bundy (alto saxophone) very generously offered to let us park it in front of her house in a very quiet rural location just off the Enumclaw-Franklin Road. We have been parking it there since mid-April and the arrangement seems to be working well, with the possible exception that it requires a 10 mile journey (round trip) for every rehearsal and concert.

In the early summer, I noticed the tread on one of the tires on our equipment trailer was pretty worn, and the Governing Board authorized me to have new tires put on the trailer. When the work was being done, it was discovered that another tire had plies separating and in fact, three of the four tires were in danger of failing at any time. The new tires should serve us for many years. Last summer, the wheel bearings were re-packed, and while the work was being done, it was discovered that the braking system was not functioning properly, and it was repaired. A technician at RV Country in Buckley, who was working on the trailer, also replaced our failing hitch jack with a used hitch jack he happened to have on hand.

In early May, while at a rehearsal of the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, I learned that the orchestra planned to sell 40 music stands, because of the loss of a place to store them and because they no longer needed them for performances. With an awareness of the shortage of stands at our rehearsals and the need to have more than half the band supply their own stands at our concerts, I rather impulsively arranged to purchase 26 stands for $20 apiece. (Why 26? Because the Manhasset stand carts we use are designed to hold 25 stands, and 26 would “fill” the current cart we already own and another cart.) I knew that the Governing Board had not approved such a purchase, and that I was making the purchase at my own risk. But I was confident that I could, over time, re-sell the stands for as much or more than they cost me if necessary (new stands cost about $45). I also decided that, in order to transport my purchase, I would need to purchase another Manhasset stand cart, which I ordered from Amazon and assembled at home. The wheels of the process turned more slowly than I expected but finally, just before our June 17th concert, I was able to pay for and pick up the stands from an SPO board member’s home in north Seattle. At its July meeting, the Governing Board decided to purchase the stands from me for the band, and in August, I re-painted the stands with our initials. We now have 50 stands for our rehearsals and performances.

Our multi-function Epson inkjet printer/copier/scanner/fax (“Egbert”) developed a problem delivering blue ink to the copies, and a service contract paid for a replacement (“Eric”). Our Brother laser printer (“Bob”) continues to work well for inexpensive printing of black-and-white computer-generated material (including these pages, except for the color Treasurer’s Report, which was printed by Eric).

We continue to store our music and equipment in a heated storage unit at Enumclaw Self-Storage. Though it’s a little pricey (a little over $100 per month), we get a 10% discount because we’re a non-profit and a free month’s rent by paying for a year at a time.

Speaking of our storage unit, it was getting pretty crowded with used instruments donated to us as part of our “Music for All” project. Inquiries with the band teacher at Enumclaw Middle School revealed that he would greatly appreciate having the instruments to use for beginning band students. A couple of weeks ago, I delivered 20 instruments to Enumclaw Middle School, and the band teacher, Ben Barker, was delighted to get them. For now, they are on “long-term loan” while we figure out the best way to donate them for the school’s use.

Calvary Presbyterian Church is still generously allowing us to use their folding chairs for most of our outdoor performances. And we are very fortunate that Christ the King Lutheran Church in Sumner generously hosts our June and August concerts in Sumner on their front lawn, and hosts an ice cream social after our June concert there and a barbeque dinner before our August concert at their church.

I have selected themes for the concerts for the upcoming year as follows:

December 8 and 9, 2019: “The Ultimate Holiday Concert”
March 8 and 9, 2020: “Symphonic Celebrations”
June 22 and 29, 2020: “Name Those Tunes XXII”
August 17 and 24, 2020: “Romps and Rhapsodies”

I want to acknowledge and thank Kathy Datin, who has continued to serve as our Concert Coordinator, arranging for ushers, concession sales and photographers; Wendy Parker, who has served as our Membership Coordinator, welcoming and orienting new members and contacting members who have been absent for a while; and Todd Frazier, who ably maintains our website.

I also want to thank those who have served on our Governing Board, particularly Gretchen Nelson, Paula Evjen and Carol Sturza, who complete their terms at the end of the month. Thanks also goes to our continuing Governing Board members: Phil Bondurant and Doug Weeks.

In closing, I want to thank you very much for allowing me to continue to direct this wonderful group. I thoroughly enjoy my involvement with the band and the chance to meet with my Band Buddies Monday evenings and for our performances. Thanks for another fabulous year of very satisfying and enjoyable music-making and for all your hard work, assistance, and friendship.