Greetings fellow Alumni Band members!
We hope each of you had a fun-filled holiday season. We also wish each and every one of you health and happiness in 2023.
Past Events
Homecoming 2022 is in the books! We had a wonderful turnout for the parade and party on Friday night and then Saturday morning for the performance of pregame with The Pride of West Virginia. Members were able to socialize with old friends and enjoy a great buffet from Vice Versa. The Pride of WV pep band stopped by to treat members to a few tunes at the party. Saturday was a new adventure with registration and rehearsal being held at Mountaineer Field. Members enjoyed a light breakfast and lunch from Apple Annie’s before the game with TCU. Members were able to relive their college days by marching with The Pride down Law School Hill and entering the tunnels for pregame.
The year was also a grand celebration of 50 years of women in the band! Festivities kicked off with Angelia Barnett and John Sinsel, accompanied by 1972 Pride member Cindi Shockey, receiving a proclamation celebrating 50 years of women in the band, from Commissioner Tom Bloom of the Monongalia County Commission. The women returning for the weekend participated in the Friday parade and party activities. The class of 1972 women received the Outstanding Alumni Award for 2022 during our annual meeting. These women also received special recognition during the game on Saturday from WVU. Those attending included: Angie Arnold Bowman, Jill Cochran, Joyce Minyard Dawley, Coral Lea Naggy Totten (all part of the Dirty Dozen, attending band camp the first year). Also attending was Eileen Smith Dallabrida and Alcinda "Cindy" Trickett Shockey who joined the band right after band camp in 1972. Thank you ladies for paving the way for women in the band!
After the practice with The Pride on Saturday morning, the 2022 annual WVU Alumni Band, Inc. meeting was held at the tunnel entrance to the stadium. The following are highlights from the meeting:
- The President, Mary Lechliter-King, gave an update about activities since the 2021 annual meeting. This included membership meeting information from the past year, updates concerning The Pride picnic during band camp, a reminder that the Alumni Band needs people to help on numerous committees, and the fundraising efforts of the Alumni Band to help The Pride of West Virginia.
- Ellen Ramey was announced as our Outstanding Alumni recipient for 2021. Congratulations, Ellen!
- Catherine Slawson was the winner of the WVU Alumni Association Lifetime Membership. Congratulations, Catherine!
- An update to the makeup of the Alumni Band board was discussed and approved by the membership. The board will then select the officers for the Alumni Band.
- It was also discussed that the Alumni Band is looking to integrate better with the Alumni Association as well as upcoming events for the rest of 2022 and into 2023.
- 2022-2023 Officers and Board of Directors.
President - John Sinsel
Vice President - Al Hall
Secretary - Hope Poole
Treasurer - Theresa Smith
Board Member/Website/Membership - Sarah Bennett-Harper
Board Member/Past President - Mary Lechliter-King
Board Member - Angelia Barnett
Board Member - Jeff Caplinger
Board Member - Scott Mahaney
Board Member - Dave O’Neal
Board Member - Ellen Ramey
Board Member - Sean Sawyer
Upcoming Events
1. February Membership Meeting - Members are invited to attend our February meeting, Sunday, February 5, 2023 at 7:00pm. Registration information will be provided around January 22, 2023 to those with a 2023 membership (more information about 2023 memberships below).
2. St. Patrick's Day Parade in Pittsburgh, PA - The event is scheduled for March 11, 2023. At this time, we plan to participate. To register and for more information about the parade, please visit the website.
3. Gold-Blue Game – Waiting on the date from WVU Athletics.
4. World Association of Marching Show Bands 2023 World Championships – Grand Feature Parade of Nations participation, Saturday, July 22, 2023. This week-long event is being held in Buckhannon, WV. More than twenty-three countries will be represented. Information will be released soon about how you can participate in this event.
5. The Pride Band Camp Picnic – date TBD
6. Fundraising Events Supporting The Pride – dates TBD
2023 Membership Dues
With all these exciting events coming up (and a lot more on the way), its that time of year again to renew your membership for 2023 and be a part of everything the Alumni Band has planned and will be planning in the future. Membership renewal for 2023 will be processed as an "Event" from our website. Starting today, you can go to the website to process your payment. You will find the 2023 membership renewal under the “Membership Payment and Event Registration Portal” tab or on the homepage under Upcoming Events. Membership dues are $40.00. However, if you pay your dues by March 31st, an early bird discount will apply, and the dues payment will be $25.00. The earlier you pay your dues, the more you can enjoy the events that the Alumni Band has to offer.
We rely on membership dues to pay for our general operating costs, such as fees for the storage unit, insurance, website, and office supplies. As a reminder, any event fees that the Alumni Band takes in for events like Homecoming only pay for that event and do not fund our general operating costs.
We are moving toward a fully electronic payment system for dues and events. However, if you need to pay by check, please see the mailing address below. If you have any questions while processing your membership, please contact Sarah at Webmaster@wvualumniband.org. If you have questions about your payment, please contact Theresa at TheresaSmith@wvualumniband.org.
We really rely on you, our members, to keep this organization going while continuing to provide support to the Pride of West Virginia in all its endeavors. Please consider renewing your membership by March 31st if you are a current member and if you’re not a member, come join us and see what we have in store for 2023.
Committees
A committee member application form is now available on the website in the member only section (Committee Form). After paying your membership dues, please take some time to complete the application if you are interested in serving on any of our committees for 2023.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at info@wvualumniband.org. Stay safe and Let’s Go Mountaineers!
Sincerely,
Officers and Board of Directors, WVU Alumni Band Inc., 2022-2023
WVU Alumni Band, Inc.
WVU Alumni Association
PO Box 4269
Morgantown, WV 26504
WVU Alumni Band, Inc.
