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Annual Meeting - 2008

The St. Johnsbury Band presented several awards at the annual meeting on November 7, 2008, at Warner's Gallery in Wells River, VT.

Two lifetime membership awards were made. Lifetime membership is given only to band members who have given enduring time and made significant efforts to advance the goals of the St. Johnsbury Band.

The first lifetime membership award was given to Marie-Anne Hemond. Hemond has played the clarinet and baritone saxophone for the Band for many years. She also served as the Band Manager for many years. During her tenure as Manager, the Band made significant improvements in its operations and scheduling of performing jobs outside of the normal summer performances. One of these jobs was the July 4, 2004 performance of the "1812 Overture" with a live cannonade from the Vermont National Guard.

The second Lifetime Membership award actually corrected an oversight. Sue Gallagher was awarded a         Lifetime membership in 1997 but her name was never inscribed on the plaque. Her name was inscribed on the plaque this year and the Band again recognized her contributions over the years.

An Honorary Membership was bestowed on Leo Messier. Messier taught music in the St. Johnsbury School and at the St. Johnsbury Academy for many years. He taught many of the current Band members how to play and was the Band Director for the St. Johnsbury School and the St. Johnsbury Academy. He played with the St. Johnsbury Band when his schedule permitted and he always encouraged his young players to play with the St. Johnsbury Band.

A new award was created this year - the In Memorium award. In Memorium membership to the St. Johnsbury Band can be awarded to those deceased members who gave enduring time and made significant efforts to advance the goals of the St. Johnsbury Band. Four In Memorium awards were made this year to Arpad Elo, Orin Jones, Raymond Laughlin, and James "Jimmy" Lumbra.

Arpad Elo was a long time Band member who played the clarinet and served as an Assistant Director. He wrote and arranged music for special occasions and helped keep the music library organized.

Orin Jones played the flute and was a long time Treasurer of the Band. He was thought of as one of the most faithful and hardest working members of the Band. It was a most difficult decision when he retired when he felt he could no longer play.

Raymond Laughlin was a very popular Director of the Band for many years. He put many challenging pieces in front of the Band for it to perform. The Band was very well respected under his leadership.

James Lumbra played the trumpet for many years and also served as an Assistant Director. During the war years when music was impossible to buy, he arranged and hand-printed music for each section of the Band.

Complete lists of the St. Johnsbury Band member awards are available on the Members page.

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