On what was supposed to be the first full day of the National Association of School Music Dealers (NASMD) annual convention in Tampa, Fla., on March 26, president Whitney Brown Grisaffi hosted the organization’s business meeting via Zoom video chat.
“We will look forward,” she said, clad in a pirate hat, which had been the theme for the Tampa event. “… We will get through this.”
Grisaffi, of Ted Brown Music in Washington state, acknowledged canceling the 2020 convention was difficult and “being in the epicenter in Washington, I stressed for weeks.”
Just like all others, she added she could not have foreseen anything like COVID-19 canceling the convention. “I might have anticipated a hurricane,” she said. “Not a pandemic.”
On a positive note, Grisaffi said she hopes she can travel to the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Golf & Beach Resort in Puerto Rico in June, site of the 2021 convention, slated for March 10 to March 13, 2021.
During the meeting, NASMD also approved its 2020-21 board of directors, who are: CJ Averwater of AMRO Music, Gayle Beacock of Beacock Music, Chris Behrens of Summerhays Music, Paul Finke of Willis Music, Grisaffi, Tamara Kautzman of Eckroth Music, Rick Thacker of Plum Grove Music and Ryan West of West Music.