Presidential Musings….

Jubilate Alumni Association November/December 2014 Presidential Musings….
The 2014-­‐2015 Jubilate choir year is off to a fast start and we have so much to be thankful for. As you will read in Alba’s report, Jubilate continues to grow in strength, spirit and praise. With a strong Spring and Fall recruiting effort, the choir is back up to 30 members, a huge Newsletter Contents jump from where JAA President Report things stood less than The Director’s Baton two years ago. With the excitement I see in Steering Committee Alba and others, I Alumni Financial Report expect to see Jubilate Director’s Task Force getting back to packing a full tour bus Final Mission, Vision, and very soon. We welcome four new JAA Board members who will serve until June 2017: Katherine Asbury, Edward Fontaine, Sara Catherine Marshall, and Garry Walton. This year’s Officers include: Chuck Starkey (President), Ric Scott (President Elect), Diane Mundell (Treasurer), and Sara Catherine Marshall (Secretary). I would like to take this opportunity to say News From Jub-­‐alums “Thank You” to those JAA Board members who rotated off the Board in June 2014 after three years of loyal service: Jeanine Aronowitz, Rhiannon Franck, Jeff Meadows, and Charlie Joyner. A special thank you goes to Jeff who graciously served as President for the 2013-­‐2014 year. Without caring folks like these four, the JAA would not be able to support Jubilate in the many ways we do. As you will read in Jeanette Martino’s report, the Directors Task Force met again June 27-­‐28, during which time they finalized the Jubilate Mission, Vision, and Values statements and started to talk about how we as alumni can support Jubilate for the next 40 years and beyond. I continue to be awed by the dedication and caring that Carl Beard, Kevin Holland, Michael Norris and Len Willingham, along with current Director Alba Beasley, have for Jubilate. I know of no other organization that can boast that all of its former CEOs are willing to travel at their own expense to come back and help their former “employer” tackle current issues and plan for the future! (continued) We put our new members right to work at the September 20th Fall meeting. We approved continuing to support student dues by contributing $100 per member to help offset their $150/semester dues. Alba says that this is a strong recruiting tool. The choir members really appreciate the fact that Jubilate alumni care enough to support them. Values Statement A Giving Spirit 1 Presidential Musings continued…. If you are as excited as I am about the current state of Jubilate and its promising future, you may be thinking, "How can I help?" Three ways come quickly to mind. First and foremost, you can pray for Jubilate’s continued good fortunes. Second, you too could volunteer to be a JAA Board member for a three-­‐year term. The Board meets only twice a year and I guarantee you will get more out of serving than you will put in. If you are interested in serving on the Board or just interested in finding out more about what the Board does, drop me a line at [email protected]. Every gift, no matter what the size, will go to supporting the current members in Jubilate. Think about what Jubilate meant to you when you were in school and the decision to support the current choir becomes an easy one. The third way is to show your support by making a donation to the Jubilate Alumni Fund or Endowment. Many of you who received Alba’s letter in August responded generously, but if you didn’t get the opportunity or would like to help again, see the information at the end of this newsletter on how you can contribute. May the peace of Christ be with you, Chuck Starkey ‘79-­‐‘81 Jubilate Alumni Association President 2 The Director’s Baton
Greetings Jubilate Alumni! This semester at UVA was much like the Fall Semesters you remember – an excitement about a new year, lots of lost first years, schedules being changed and rearranged right up to the last second, football, Jubilate Fall Retreat and Variety Show, over-­‐
commitment, friendships renewed and newly formed. This semester has also been a semester with which I hope none of you can relate – an Ebola scare across our nation, and many native African students concerned for their families' welfare, the disappearance of Hannah Graham, attacks on at least 3 other females since the semester began within walking distance of University Baptist Church, and now the national spotlight on sexual assault here and at other Universities. The simple truth is that the world in which we live is often bad. In a world like this, we all need family and friends to help us survive and cope. The good news is that Jubilate continues to provide a family and set of really good and supportive friends. I am sure that you can relate to that, and that you still keep up with many of your fellow Jubos! But, before you label me the Ambassador of Bad News, here is some news to get excited about: Jubilate enrollment now is officially at 30! This may seem like a small number to you, but when we were scrambling to have 16 on tour, we are excited about this number. And their sound – Hallelujah! We have a Soprano section that includes a very musically gifted first year – a cellist and a wonderful singer; a large Alto section that is extremely talented; a Tenor section with strong singers; and a Bass section that includes a 6’4” singer whose range is as strong and low as his height. Our Variety Show theme this year was “Happy” and we sang and danced to the Pharrell Williams song, “Happy.” We also sang a really exciting gospel arrangement of “I Sing Because I’m Happy” that we will be taking on tour with us. On Sunday, November 2, for Parents Weekend we sang an arrangement of “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me” with cello obligato, the gospel arrangement I just mentioned, and an exciting anthem that goes along with our “Happy” theme from Variety Show. Of course, the service that day concluded with a choral benediction of “Beautiful Savior”. I want to thank you for your support of Jubilate. Your financial support is overwhelming and I and the current members appreciate all that you are doing! But, especially, I want to thank you for your prayer support – I have prayed long and hard over this group for 14 years, and I know that you are praying, too – that means so much! As you pray, remember not only our singers, our concerts and tour, but also something that we started this month – a Jubilate Bible Study. It is totally optional, but we are offering it to help strengthen the family that we are becoming. On Tuesday, December 2, we are presenting Lessons and Carols on Grounds in the Chapel at 5:30. We wanted you to know about this, to pray about it, and if possible, to come share with us: God bless you all Alba Beasley Jubilate Director 3 Steering Committee Greetings
Jubilate is starting out the new school year with great energy and enthusiasm! Steering committee’s primary goals for Jubilate are to increase membership with ongoing recruitment, to deepen group cohesion through social bonding and spiritual development, and to become more active as a group in the UVA community. Additionally, we are currently exploring several fundraising opportunities. We also want to continue building our relationship with UBC members, as we are ever grateful for their constant support! Growing Membership So far, we have welcomed 10 new members into the group, which maintains our membership from last year at 29 members strong. Of course we want to grow our Jubilate family even more, so we will continue recruitment efforts, including "flyering, tabling and chalking" well into the spring semester. With all our new members, our Fall Variety show entitled “Be Happy,” was a great success! More than Just the Music! One chilly Saturday morning before dawn, 8 Jubos and I hiked Humpback Rock at sunrise! It was a wonderful time of fellowship and a chance to bond with new Jubos. We will continue to host other social events: Jubilate movie nights; progressive dinners; ice skating adventures; annual Christmas caroling & party; and much more! We want to deepen friendships and know each other beyond simply our shared interests in God and music. Sarah Labriny, our spiritual development chair, has jumpstarted several new initiatives to revitalize Jubilate as a true faith community, more than just a choir singing Christian songs. Sarah sends out a weekly list of prayer concerns that she has received from Jubos during the week, enabling us to support one another in and outside of rehearsal. She also is leading a weekly Jubilate bible study on Tuesday evenings and in keeping with tradition, assigns a different Jubo each week to give the devotional, which focuses our hearts and minds on the Lord at the start of every rehearsal. Fundraising & Community Involvement In a few weeks, Jubilate will sell grilled cheese sandwiches, baked goods, and perhaps bottled water, one Saturday night on the Corner. We will cook everything together at UBC immediately beforehand—
one more way to spend time together. Jason’s deli is hosting a fundraiser for Jubilate in a few weeks, giving us 15% of all profits made by customers attending in Jubilate’s name. Although we missed it for this year, we are now on the list for stadium cleanup fundraising for the 2015 UVA football season. October 31st, Jubilate passed out candy and baked goods at trick-­‐or-­‐treating on The Lawn! Also, in mid-­‐November performed the National Anthem at a women’s and a men’s basketball games. We will also perform a Lessons and Carols program in the UVA Chapel in December, as well as at UBC. 4 Steering Committee continued…. We are excited to engage with both the University and the greater Charlottesville communities in these ways. In addition to our desire to be missional, we also hope that community engagement and publicity of ourselves within UVA will make Jubilate a known influence on grounds and boost our recruitment efforts. Thank YOU Alumni! On behalf of all of Jubilate, thank you so much for your financial and spiritual support of Jubilate over the years! This organization means so much to us, as I know it still does to you all as well, and we know we could do none of what we do without your generosity and encouragement. We will work hard to build on the great traditions that you all have set before us. God Bless, Mollie Bland Jubilate Steering Committee President Want to learn more about the current Jubilate choir? See a video from the reunion concert?
Be sure to visit the all new Jubilate website at www.jubilateuva.org. A great big “THANKS” goes out to Erin Veasey and Mike Recachinas for all their hard work in
creating this beautiful new website. Check it out!
5 The Jubilate Director’s Task Force – Into the Fifth Decade and Beyond… As you know from the March 2014 Jubilate newsletter, the Director’s Task Force (DTF) is an ad hoc group formed in 2013 to initiate dialogue about Jubilate’s continued prosperity “into the fifth decade and beyond.” Members include the current Director, Alba Beasley; UBC Senior Pastor Michael Cheuk; all former Jubilate Directors (Carl Beard, Len Willingham, Mike Norris, Kevin Holland); Jubilate Alumni Association (JAA) President Chuck Starkey; Jeff Meadows, Diane Mundell, Robby Gough, and myself. The group began with a sole purpose: to support Jubilate in any way possible through its shared leadership. The DTF met in Charlottesville on four separate weekends, once each in June and September of 2013, and in January and June of 2014. We wrestled with the philosophical, the spiritual, and the practical as we attempted to better understand the issues impacting Jubilate’s future. The collective work of the group contributed to several outcomes. Jubilate has for the first time a written mission, vision, and set of stated values to help guide future decisions. Recruitment efforts were stepped up, and the current group of singers experienced revitalization, with membership returning more in line with previous years (30 and growing this fall). DTF members deepened their understanding of the historical and present-­‐day challenges facing not only Jubilate, but also facing University Baptist Church, and consequently, the absolutely critical need for a strong and committed Jubilate Alumni Association. We are in agreement that there is plenty of specific work to be done both within UBC and within the JAA, and the insights gained over the last year can serve our leadership in moving forward in positive and meaningful ways. Many opportunities exist for strengthening infrastructure, outreach, recruitment, and communications; and for building a case for increased financial support. This is a brief summary of the recommended work pending. For the JAA: • Consistent and effective communications with our alumni base; • Recruitment of alumni willing to serve in volunteer roles; and • Development of a regular appeals program for annual financial support For UBC: • Determining priorities and staffing for all ongoing and new ministries, including Jubilate; • Designated administrative support for the Jubilate Director; and • Consistent and transparent process for acknowledgement and administration of all financial gifts Ideally, a detailed multi-­‐year strategic plan for Jubilate would be developed and accomplished through the joint efforts of UBC and JAA leadership. At this time, the 6 DTF has elected to pause to allow time for needed actions to be taken, but is open to reconvening in the future. The spirit of Jubilate -­‐-­‐ an enduring community that shares God’s love -­‐-­‐ was present in all of our conversations, even the most difficult ones. I extend my personal thanks to each DTF member for the commitment, time, talent, energy, and love evident in their work over the past year. The extraordinary collective wisdom and devotion shown by our past and present Directors was a hallmark of every session, underscoring the value and power of this ministry over the last 41 years. It is our hope and belief that God will continue to speak through the music and life of Jubilate for many, many more years to come. Jeanette Fauber Martino, Facilitator Jubilate 1973-­‐76 JUBILATE
Mission
Vision
Sharing
God’s love
through
musical
excellence
and
enduring
community
Premier choral group of UVA students
sharing God’s love
Through musical
excellence
– Superior
performance of
highest quality
choral music
– Broad impact on
the Grounds and
beyond (national
and international)
Values
Through enduring
community
– Dynamic
partnerships with
University Baptist
Church, Jubilate
Alumni
Association, and
University of
Virginia
– Fully engaged
7 •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Commitment
Musical excellence
Community/family
Open and welcoming
Celebrating diversity
Ministry
Praise
Alumni engagement
Reunions
Partnership with University
Baptist Church
and supportive
alumni body
Honoring our values, our history, and
embracing the future
Final – June 2014
8 2013 Financial Report The Jubilate Alumni Association continues to put a lot of effort into considering the best way we can support Jubilate financially. As our endowments have grown over the past few years, we are considering the best way to use the earnings to further the mission of Jubilate. While we work through the details of doing that, we are continuing to provide a portion of the ‘dues’ that each current member of Jubilate is required to pay each semester. For Spring 2014, we donated $125 per member towards their total dues of $150. During the March 2014 JAA meeting, we committed to fund $100 per member towards the Fall 2014 dues. We made this commitment, realizing that we did not have enough money in the Alumni Annual Fund to cover the total cost. As you can see from the balances below, with 30 members in the current group, we will not be able to cover this commitment using funds from the Alumni Annual Fund. The remainder will come from the earnings on the endowment funds. Below is a summary of contributions received during 2013 and 2014 for each of the funds, and the balances in each of the funds at the end of September 2014. Contributions Balances JAA Funds 2013 2014 9/30/2014 Operating Fund Alumni Annual Fund Reunion Fund Bixenman Endowment Veasey Endowment General Endowment $ 8,309.02 2,298.00 1,633.00 0.00 300.00 150.00 $ 12,690.02 $ 6,535.00 2,425.00 0.00 100.00 480.00 725.00 $ 10,265.00 $ 145,536.17 Diane Weber Mundell JAA Treasurer 9 $ 2,222.61 1,626.71 1,546.29 80,805.11 30,924.86 28,410.59 A Giving Spirit Annual Giving Benefits Jubilate A vital and dynamic annual giving program is truly a “lifeline” for the continued success of Jubilate. Thanks to each of you who have given so regularly and generously to our appeals for support. Your gifts are making a difference for current members in sustaining their commitment and they are vital to the support of annual operations. Your gifts make it possible for us to continue to subsidize much of the $150 semester dues for each choir member and fund other things such as the new t-­‐shirts that have helped in recruiting. If you have recently made a gift, thank you!! If you haven’t made your gift yet, please take a moment while it’s on your heart and mind, and do it. How can I make a gift, you might be asking? That’s the easy part. Just make your check payable to “University Baptist Church” (mark it for Jubilate) and send it to: Jubilate Alumni Association c/o Diane Weber Mundell 1545 Surry Hill Ct. Charlottesville, VA 22901 Also, if you want to use your credit card, so you can build up more airline points to save for that trip back to Charlottesville to hear Jubilate in concert, you can donate online via the UVA Alumni Association. Just remember to indicate that the contribution is for Jubilate. As Jubilate alums, you are a valued resource in the ongoing success of this great ministry and tradition. Soli Deo Gloria! Carl Beard Jubilate Founding Director 10 Jubilate Alumni News Amanda Bergner married Kaleb Yohay on Labor Day weekend. They moved to Nyack, NY with their three kids, Riley, Ezra and Astrid. The best way to reach her is [email protected]. Jennifer Courtney (her maiden name) is living in London. She is married to Mark and has a daughter, Abigail, who is 1 year old. She has been in London the last eight years, so it feels like home to her. She works for Tearfund, an international development agency. Sara Herbst married Alex Grawe on July 5 in Middleburg, VA. They are now living in Springfield, PA. Robin Pritchard Huff (99-­‐03) and Benjamin-­‐Josiah Huff welcomed Virginia Mae Huff (3 lbs 11 oz and 16 ¾ inches long) and Mary-­‐Blythe Reagan Huff (3 lbs 8 oz and 15 ¾ inches long) on June 28, 2014. Robbie Jones (06-­‐07) was named Teacher of the Year for Windy Gap Elementary School in May of 2014. She went on a six-­‐week mission trip to Zimbabwe this summer. She spent most of her time at Kutenda Children’s Home, helping build an office block for the director so they could accommodate more children. She moved to Richmond in August to attend Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, where she is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree. She is serving as the Children’s Ministry Intern at Central Baptist Church in Chesterfield County. She is also substitute teaching in Henrico County and Richmond City. Sam Nicolai has recently moved to the Middlebury, Vermont area with his wife, Laura Ann, and three daughters, Sarah, Caroline, and Sophia. He is Director of Engineering for Casella Waste Systems in Rutland, VT, and Laura Ann is the Epidemiology Program Chief for the Vermont Heath Department in Burlington, VT. Potential skiers are welcome to visit and brave the New England winter with them! 11 Derek Leiner ('07-­‐'10) graduated medical school in May. Derek and Kathleen ('05-­‐'09) moved to Richmond VA this summer. Kathleen is an ICU nurse at VCU, and Derek is a resident in internal medicine at VCU. Ginny Bowen Olson (class of 98) and husband Sean are pleased to introduce Brooks Chandler who joined big brother, Bennett Oscar, on August 29. Martha Jo (MJ) (Lippincott) Pearson was with the group starting spring semester of her first year at UVA in 1974 and sang through 1976. It was a valuable and enriching experience. She has been singing ever since with groups in Lynchburg, VA. Here is what has been happening in her world: Her younger son, Dylan Pearson, has joined the family business. They own Charley's Restaurant and Catering, which began in Charlottesville (1978) and Lynchburg was the second location to open in 1980. She and her husband, Rob Pearson, have worked together since 1980, got married in 1983, bought this Charley's in 1985 and are the only restaurant remaining from the original group. They have two sons. Bobby graduated from UVA in 2009 and Dylan from VT in 2011. (She insists that Dylan loves UVA as well as anyone!) They are so pleased to have Dylan join them after graduating from VT with honors in 2011 with a business degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management. He then accepted a management position with Jason's Deli and has worked for that company in Charlotte, NC the past three years. He returned to Lynchburg this summer and has been named their Catering Manager and will be assuming Kitchen Manager duties as well. Go visit them at the restaurant if you are in Lynchburg at 707 Graves Mill Rd! Dr. Nae Pearson (Jubilate early 80's!) is serving as Minister of Music at Christ Congregational Church-­‐United Church of Christ in Silver Spring, Maryland, and welcomes visits from Jubilums in the area. His web site for church related activities is www.Naepearson.com. Nae is also a licensed massage therapist with a private practice in Kensington, Maryland, specializing in therapeutic solutions for repetitive stress injuries. Visit his web site at www.sleepycreekmassage.com. Dan and Alden Pinkham have moved out to Mountain View, CA, so that he may pursue his new career as a medical physicist in the field of radiation oncology. Dan is in the middle of year 1 of a 3-­‐year residency program at Stanford University Cancer Center. They are both loving the sunny weather and many food options in the Bay Area! 12 David and Katherine Routenberg. After five years in southern California (and another five years before that in New England), the Routenberg family finally moved back to the DC area this summer. The major impetus for the move was that they had a son, Matthew Davidson, in December of 2013 and wanted to be closer to family. David is working for a biotech company in southern Maryland and Katherine is enjoying her time away from the mental health field while she hangs out with Matthew and Mathilda, the pug. Patricia Rowley married John Robert “Robbie” Hott on November 15, 2014. Karee (Smith) Santos, JD, and her husband Manuel P. Santos, MD, have started an online Catholic marriage ministry called Can We Cana. Their marriage advice book will be published by Ave Maria Press in 2016 (http://canwecana.blogspot.com)
Garry Walton continues as academic dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at Meredith College, where he has completed 30 years on the faculty. Sally continues as a literacy teacher in the Wake County Public Schools. Last September (2013) he and Sally celebrated the wedding of first-­‐born son Jonathan, who has moved with bride Hannah from Seattle to San Diego to start a PhD program in role-­‐playing games (officially Intercultural Communication). Younger son Leigh is still in NYC selling comic books (officially marketing director for Top Shelf Comix). Why couldn’t we all get fun jobs like that? Tell your kids that creativity really does pay off – you don’t have to grow up. Vince Wilcox (76-­‐78) is the new general manager for Belden Street Music, parent company of DiscoverWorship.com an online music service providing subscription music and drama resources to churches. Additionally, his family just moved into a home that will comfortably accommodate Sharon's (76-­‐77) dad and sister. New address: 773 Glen Oaks Drive, Franklin, TN 37067. 13