Milestone

June 1st, 2011. . .

a big date in the New Initiatives Campaign.

The keynote address at National Seminar 2009 indicated the need for AGEHR to move in a bold, new direction. During the next year, our National Board utilizing input and ideas gathered from all levels of AGEHR membership focused on creating a plan to achieve that move. Then the following year at Pinnacle 2010 our National Board announced major changes which will serve to transform the face of AGEHR and become the catalyst for handbell musicians to build “a lifetime of ringing.” As a result, AGEHR will invest in the future of our organization by concentrating on three areas.

First will be a COMPLETE OVERHAUL OF TECHNOLOGY, which will bring our handbell community together in exciting new ways. A software solution has already been identified and is undergoing customization to serve the unique needs of our membership. Completion of this phase of the plan is scheduled for June 2011.

Ah, and there it is. . . June 1st 2011 the completion of the “complete overhaul
of the AGEHR technology”. As you may already be aware we have blown this
scheduled date away by having already started providing a wide variety of new
electronic capabilities, benefits and opportunities to our community via the new
and improved structure of our website months ahead of time. While there have
been some transitional hiccups here and there, overall this overhaul has not
just been a huge success but a real boon for our community of musicians. Our
members have already begun enjoying a variety of technological improvements such
as enhanced on-line renewal and account management options, on-line registration
for upcoming national events, as well as new benefits like the Life Time of
Ringing option for ringers. (tutorial information here)

For me, while I am thrilled that we have more than successfully met this June 1st deadline of completing the installation of this new technology, the REAL EXCITING part of this new technology called NEON is that it is a “cloud based,” dynamic system (as opposed to purchased software or hardware) that will continue to grow and develop with us and with the ever changing technological world that we live in over the coming years. This ability to grow and develop means that new benefits and opportunities will continue to be developed and made available to our community thanks to this first milestone in our 3 pronged New Initiatives Campaign.

TimeLine Review:

• December 2010
  • NEON system works on customization and current member data
  • National office staff begins training
  • National staff reviews data and customization and works with z2Sytems to adjust the NEON system where necessary
  • National office begins converting content of AGEHR website to reflect the new name - Handbell Musicians of America (see example of transitional page here)
  



• January 2011
  • Begin using NEON in-house for all member database functions
  • Begin integrating NEON with AGEHR website and make basic features available to membership
  • Begin incorporating our new name into event marketing and branding
  • National Seminar registration opens on-line through NEON
  



• March/April 2011
  • Begin incorporating new name into E-newsletters and e-mail messaging
  • More NEON features become available on-line
  • Continue transitioning website
  



• June 1, 2011
  • Completion of this phase of the plan
  • 9:00-9:05AM EST national office official happy dance commences
  • 9:06-9:09AM EST resting on laurels while luxuriating in success
  • 9:10AM Right then onward and upwards to . . .

Phase 2: Rebranding 10/1/2011