Greetings wonderful OkMEA members!

The OkMEA Board met in May to discuss our upcoming events and budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. We continue to battle rising expenses related to hosting both All-State and our professional development experiences. In an effort to balance our budget and save for the future, the following motions were passed related to All-State fees:

1. Children’s Chorus registration fees will increase to $55 for the 2025 Winter Conference. The Children’s Chorus Chaperone badge will serve as a ticket to the Children’s Chorus concert.
2. The HS All-State registration fees will increase to $115 for the 2025 Winter Conference. This would also apply to those participating in the Popular Music Collective.

We also approved the following motions related to conference fees:

1. The Start-Up Summit registration fee will increase to $25 for the 2024 Summit. Those who attend the Start-Up Summit also receive complimentary registration for the OkMEA Fall Conference.
2. The 2025 Winter Conference fees for OkMEA Members and Non-Members will increase by $10 and First Year Teachers, Retired Members, and OkMEA Guests will increase by $5. Collegiate Student pricing will remain the same. All new pricing has been posted to the OkMEA website.

The OkMEA Board also discussed the possibility of moving the OkMEA Winter Conference to downtown Oklahoma City. In order to move to OKC, we would have to use the Omni Hotel to have access to the Convention Center. We would also have to use the Sheraton, Skirvin, Wyndham Grand, Fairfield Inn, and Courtyard Marriott to have enough housing for all All-State students and conference attendees. We would also need the Civic Center for All-State rehearsals/performances and Honor Group concerts as well as a downtown church. When conducting the research, we met with the OKC Convention Bureau and a representative from Helms Briscoe for hotel negotiations. Because our programming is so complex, we were only considering a three-year contract (2028-2030). However, the Omni/Convention Center is unwilling to look at booking programming of our size that far in the future due to their booking guidelines. Both venues are relatively new and are not sure what their "typical" convention traffic may or may not be at this time. Because we are unable to secure the Omni/Convention Center for a three-year term, we are unable to move the conference at this time. However, we will continue to look into this possibility. The landscape of OKC will be changing again in the next few years when the city tears down the Paycom Center and adds yet another hotel in its place. If you have further questions, please reach out to Executive Director Katie Robertson at director@okmea.org.