A letter from our President:
Allow me to take this opportunity to reflect on our first year as the “new” PSMA as well as share some exciting news for the 23/24 school year.
Last Spring, as a group of parents, we asked the VPA Vocal, Theatre, Band, & Orchestra Directors at the middle & high school level to stand with us through a one-year financial moratorium so we could work to get the organization back up and running after the pandemic decline. We formatted a board, followed the bylaws, and came up with new strategies to get us on track. We focused on developing a Board of Directors that represent all four divisions: Band, Orchestra, Vocal, and Theatre. We quickly began selling memberships and focused on our social media reach. We took off running and did not look back.
We are thrilled to report that PSMA had an outstanding year. We implemented a liaison program so each Director would have a direct line of communication to our organization. We crushed our $10,000 fundraising goal by doubling it. In the fall we collected over $2,500 at concerts to donate right back to each program. We secured a grant for the summer camp program, we quickly created a platform for Spectrum to fundraise when they advanced to ICHSA Vocal finals in NYC, and in the coming weeks we will award four scholarships to high school seniors selected by the Plymouth High Schools Scholarship Committees.
On May 10th, we concluded this school year with our official Annual Meeting. Congratulations to Trace Melody, who was elected to our Board. She joins us after a spectacular year of volunteering, and we are excited to have her plan with us.
As a group, we have a lot of people to thank for this past year, but I would be remiss if I didn’t personally thank our Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Committee Members, and PSMA Liaisons for their hard work and determination to make an impact for the students.
We want to thank all the volunteers who stepped up to build sets, run concessions, collect donations, usher, pull the water cart for the Marching Band, make costumes, and all the other tasks that do not go unnoticed. We see every volunteer and we say thank you.
Thank you to each appointed liaison who went above and beyond to support their Director. They recruited volunteers, built sets, fitted uniforms, sewed costumes, gathered donations, decorated banquets, took concert photos for FB, wrote social media posts, and collected monetary donations for their program during those performances.
Thank you to Mrs. Fry, Mr. Parcellin, Mr. Palladino and Mr. Murphy for their constant support in advertising our fundraisers and conveying our mission.
Thank you to our constituents who participated in fundraisers, gave monetary donations, completed surveys, joined us at our restaurant evenings, and made our first year of Plymouth Calling an outstanding success!
We are excited to move forward with PSMA into the 23/24 school year. Our funding moratorium is officially over! We will be sending the Directors request forms and guidelines in the coming weeks. We will be reviewing and granting monies beginning in August. We are so excited as a group to see our efforts come full circle.
As we move into the summer, our 23/24 membership campaign will roll out. A $10 membership fee goes a long way in making an impact. Membership sales run from July 1st-December 31st for the current school year. Being a member means you are supporting the VPA Vocal, Theatre, Band & Orchestra programs. A membership allows you to vote on PSMA matters during a meeting. Being a member does not mean you are obligated to attend a meeting. Small acts can have large impacts. If you cannot attend meetings, then we ask that you spread awareness and ask other families to become members too. Anyone is welcome to attend a PSMA meeting, you do not need to be a member, but becoming a member helps us grow our fund.
As we close out the 22/23 concert season you will see us collecting donations for those respective groups. Feel free to stop by and ask any questions or just say hello!
Congratulations and thank you to our outstanding Directors who work hard for our students every day, Mrs. Holmes, Mr. Grossman, Ms. McBride, Mrs. Grueb, Mr. Luciana, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Palombo, Mrs. Fuller, Mr. Loretz, Mrs. Booker and the PSMS staff who took on the Spring Musical! We look forward to seeing and hearing your efforts at the remaining concerts this year.
Sincerely,
Beth Lopes
PSMA President
Upcoming PSMA Meetings:
Tuesday August 8th at 6:30 at Plymouth NORTH HS rm 107
Thursday September 7th at 6:30 at Plymouth NORTH HS rm 107
