Having read the recent postings I was somewhat at a loss as to what I might be able to do in the area of music education as pertains to piano technicians.
I would like to suggest that you consider future actions against the backdrop of contracting economic conditions. No ideology or political perspective or even apparently baseless optimism can stand up to certain realities. If anyone was attending the council in Kansas City last summer the subject of increased dues came up. For most of the members a modest increase was not going to be a problem. For others it was going to make the difference between renewal and non-renewal of membership. Only time will tell just how an apparently small decision has affected the overall revenue. In our chapter one member requested an extension, but chapter members simply made contributions to allow that person to continue his membership and not lose certain advantages by having it lapse.
Although this may not seem to have direct bearing on the topic at hand I must question the wisdom of holding a contest to award some money to someone coming up with a good marketing idea. Is this really a good idea or does it just come about because we have not been able to imagine or project anything better? We have to consider the majority of members who willingly contribute support the guild, play a largely passive role and may indeed not see any concrete benefits to increasing dues other than the maintenance of status.. The word status implies not moving forward akin to the static state.
I’d like to suggest something else that may not commit shrinking resources to something as prosaic as a contest. Why not propose to music teachers that some kind of mutual associate membership be available to members of PTG? In this way some of the PTG members might be more likely to attend music teachers meetings and likewise music teachers might attend PTG chapter meetings in the interest of advancing general knowledge. We know that many of our members have strong musical backgrounds and some of them may wish to take up teaching themselves if no other reason than to supplement incomes. The technical knowledge that many of our members possess could be useful to students. Here’s a useful quote from a renown pedagogue :“ Most pianists missed their first lesson: how the piano works.”
The suggestions I am offering are the best I can do at this time. I am not inclined to act on other suggestions put forward thus far, not being convinced of their ultimate usefulness. Yet I think that if more creative imagination can be applied something may emerge that goes beyond a thing that merely ends up being posted on a web page.
Thank you for your time and consideration.