FROM THE PRESIDENT…

So many times in life we get lulled by our surroundings or routines and end up assuming that something wonderful that we do or experience over and over again is the norm for all. Once in a while though, a particular event or person will open our eyes to the fact that what we have is a special gift.

In February, our MBO board was invited to present at a forum on Music Advocacy at the Minnesota Music Educators Association State Convention. Let me just say – our eyes were opened. We were asked to share what we have done with our Music Booster group – where we came from, what we are doing now, how we get support, how we help our schools, etc.

Janet Beckman got the ball rolling with a wonderful PowerPoint outlining our MBO history points, things we have done, and some things that we hope to do. It was amazing to see how much MBO has accomplished with each year.

The presentation was well received. The questions and comments from the audience helped us to see just how far MBO has come, how much we have accomplished, and how well our community supports the school music programs. Many of the booster groups at the convention were also amazed at the cooperation of our music teachers and the communication with the school board and school administrations. We were reminded once again that we are very lucky to have a staff that works TOGETHER for the overall benefit of music in our schools – not just band, or orchestra, or choir, or one particular school. We are also lucky to be able to communicate with our administrators and school boards to help them understand that we are there to partner with them for the music students.

Owatonna is an exceptional town for music. Sometimes we don’t realize how many wonderful things we have until we look around and see what other towns have to offer. If you look, you will see music excellence in our schools, as well as in our community. Both excel because of the other. Our community is a strong supporter of music and arts, and this provides our youth the foundation and opportunities to grow. It is due to our community that we have these advantages and that we can enjoy the fruitfulness of that support. During a conversation with someone several years ago, I was mentioning the fact that Owatonna was so lucky to have such great fine arts opportunities, and that this was one of the reasons that we chose Owatonna to live in and raise our children. Their response was that our fine arts are strong because of the cyclical effect – community fine arts opportunities are good, so they attract people that support and advocate fine arts, which in turn makes the fine arts base better, which attracts more advocates, etc.

MBO offers a huge THANKS to all of you for continuing to support our community’s fine arts – especially our music. Remember that it is a continual process. We need you to continue to help – and invite someone else to join in the cause – keep it going!

Vidette Ostermeier

MBO President

MBO BOARD 2007/2008

Join us the 2nd Tuesday of the month

6:30 Next to OHS Orchestra Room

President Members at Large

Michele Rysavy Gary Beckman

Vice President Jerry Besser

Mike Oldenburg Les Getting

Secretary John Heydon

Deb Miller Phil Kaupa

Treasurer Maureen Lyons