THE 57TH NATIONAL CONVENTION A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT LICHTENBERG

The 57th National Convention A Message From President Lichtenberg

Issued: March 1, 2021

Brothers,

I hope that you are doing well, and that Spring is beginning to bring more sunshine and warmer weather wherever you may be. Several Brothers have been asking about our National Convention, and I am writing you today with a formal announcement.

Title I: Article III; Section 3 of our National Constitution & Bylaws directs that the National President “announces no later than March 1 prior to a National Convention to members of the National Assembly the place, date and time of the first meeting of the National Convention, and publishes the official docket.”

The past two years have been very challenging for all of us, primarily due to the conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic that struck our nation last Spring. Virtually every facet of our lives has been changed or impacted in some way during the past year, and things we once took for granted have become prohibited or greatly restricted.

The travel and hospitality industries have been impacted severely, leading to the closure of several hotel properties, a reduction in airline flights, and a general prohibition on travel and large gatherings across the United States. At its first full face-to-face meeting in October, 2018, the National Executive Committee selected St. Louis, Missouri as the site of our 57th National Convention, and directed the National Staff to secure a Convention location.

All of our partner organizations, including the Midwest Clinic, Barbershop Harmony Society, Texas Music Educators Association and Drum Corps International, were forced to cancel their national conventions and meetings outright, or substitute virtual events. Many of our fellow fraternal organizations had to postpone their conventions as well.

After reviewing conditions in the Fraternity and in St. Louis, consulting with Brothers and representatives of our hotel site and meeting planning consultants, and considering that our primary responsibility must be the health and safety of our Brothers, I have come to the determination that it is not possible to hold our National Convention safely or effectively in July, 2021. I waited as long as possible, in hopes that the situation would change significantly, but that was unfortunately not to be.

Therefore, in accordance with my responsibilities as National President and Chief Executive of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, I am announcing to the membership a one-year postponement of the 57th National Convention, to July 20-24, 2022, in St. Louis, Missouri.

The first session of the National Assembly will convene, as required by the National Constitution and Bylaws, at the 57th National Convention in St. Louis at 1:30 PM on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. I encourage all Brothers who are able to attend the 57th National Convention to make plans now to be present for this important gathering of our Fraternity.

We have no official docket at this time, since five members of the duly constituted National Executive Committee were expelled by the Commission on Standards in 2020, rendering achieving the mandated quorum for meetings of the National Executive Committee impossible. As a result, I have been unable to appoint a Legislative Committee, or a Nominating Committee, because both require ratification by the National Executive Committee, as does the official docket based on the work of the Legislative Committee.

I will issue the required formal Call to Convention once again, on or before March 1, 2022, with further details. We hope to have details finalized sufficiently to open registration in July, 2021. I will issue updates to the Fraternity as further developments become available.

There is ample historical precedent for the postponement or cancellation of the National Convention in times of emergency or restriction. The Constitution held the same provisions regarding the date and frequency of Conventions then as it does today. The first Convention cancelled was in 1906. Conventions were also cancelled in response to the Spanish Flu pandemic and American involvement in World War I in 1917 and 1918. In the Biennial Convention era, the Convention was cancelled in 1942 and again in 1944 during World War II.

Pictured: The 1946 National Convention held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was the first convention held since 1940 because of WWII.

I do not feel that cancellation is necessary, but prudence and my responsibility as National President to act in the best interests of our Fraternity dictate postponement for a brief period of time until we can safely and securely gather once again.

While some Brothers have suggested holding a virtual meeting of the National Assembly in lieu of the National Convention, and I have considered their recommendations sincerely, this option is not practicable. The National Constitution & Bylaws defines the National Assembly as the body of delegates that meets at a National Convention and has no provision allowing those delegates to assemble outside of a National Convention. Additionally, the National Assembly that met at the 56th National Convention directed that a committee be appointed to study the ramifications of virtual or electronic meetings in light of current and emerging technologies. The appointed committee was unable to reach consensus, but presented two recommendations to the National Executive Committee. At its last official meeting in June, 2019, the members of the NEC postponed consideration of those recommendations until the next in-person NEC meeting.

I have had concerns about the effectiveness of our organizational structures , and those concerns grew in the run up to, and during, the meeting of the National Assembly in 2018. I felt that a thorough review was necessary, since the structures currently in place were established in 1922 and last reviewed over 50 years ago in 1964. I shared my thoughts with various Fraternity leaders during conversations over the years, including several members of the NEC during the CPR Convocation in Evansville in December, 2018.

I formally notified the NEC in 2019 that I had serious concerns with our current organizational structures, and my worst fears have been realized. The events of the past two years have revealed severe organizational defects, an appalling misunderstanding of the historical structure of our Fraternity by men entrusted to oversee and protect it, conflicts between our governing documents and prevailing law, and major gaps and deficiencies in the National Constitution & Bylaws.

This is a critical period for our Fraternity, Brothers, and I believe that the solutions to these serious issues require the full resources of all the Brothers of our Fraternity. That cannot be properly achieved quickly, without research, deliberation, and time to consider alternatives, and the process requires a full Convention, open to all Brothers in good standing.

The final, and foremost, factor influencing my decision was the inability to meet our Convention requirements due to health and safety restrictions still in force in St. Louis, and across the country. I do not want any Brother to fear attending the National Convention, and while things are improving in many ways, we cannot yet provide responsibly for a safe and healthy gathering.

It would be irresponsible, and in many ways immoral, to force our Brothers to choose between the welfare of the Fraternity they love and their own personal health, safety, and well-being, and I will not do so. We must additionally consider the liability exposure for the Fraternity that accompanies such a decision. The Fraternity has suffered greatly over the past two years, and I refuse to expose it to further damages or risks.

I know that some Brothers will be disappointed in this announcement or will assume some unstated, nefarious intent. There will be questions about how the necessary processes and protocols that lead into a National Convention will be handled or impacted by this decision. I have referred the matter to the Fraternity’s Parliamentarian, and she has recommended additional resources to help us arrive at workable and proper solutions. I will update the membership when the parliamentary recommendations are finalized.

I assure all Brothers that I have every desire to gather again as soon as possible, to restabilize the governance structures of our Fraternity, and to follow our organization’s regular processes leading into the 57th National Convention as consistently as possible with past practice.

The decision to postpone our National Convention is one of prudence and practicality. Like many things this past year, this is yet another event in our lives that has been impacted by the global pandemic. I have said before, and reiterate now, that I am inspired by the ingenuity and resilience of our Brothers, and I am certain that we will move forward together for the betterment of our Order.

Fraternally Yours, In Phi, Mu, Alpha,

Mark R. Lichtenberg, National President Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America