Mission:
To ensure the continued existence of major symphony orchestras in North America through volunteerism.
AMSOV is Proud to Present a Standing Ovation Award to Tracey Hawkins of Kansas City
AMSOV is proud to announce that Tracey Hawkins of Kansas City, Missouri, and outstanding volunteer for one of our constituent members, the Kansas City Symphony, accepted a Standing Ovation Award from AMSOV on October 8, 2024. The award was presented at a full membership meeting of the Kansas City Symphony Alliance, one of the Kansas City Symphony's volunteer organizations.
The award presentation was made by Mike Minor, a former AMSOV President who was the person who nominated Tracey for the award. She is shown at right accepting the award.
For over 20 years, Tracey was an invaluable volunteer for the Kansas City Symphony Alliance (KCSA), an organization supporting the Kansas City Symphony. She was the President of KCSA, but her most extraordinary accomplishments were as Public Relations Vice President a few years ago. This was in the beginning days of social media, and through her influence KCSA became one of the first local volunteer organizations to use such now-basic tools as Constant Contact, Facebook, Instagram and social media sites. She was also the longtime public relations chair for the major fund raising project of KCSA, an annual Symphony Designers Showhouse which still continues to this day.
Tracey was (and is) very technologically sophisticated and worked hard to upgrade and modernize both of the KCSA websites (KCSymphonyAlliance.org and Showhouse.org. Tracey brought KCSA to a new level in these areas and provided a great foundation on which the organization has continued to build.
In her life beyond her symphony volunteer work, Tracey is a nationally known expert in the field of security for real estate agents. She is active as a speaker and online. She has also served on several other arts boards. More information about Tracey (but not her involvement as a symphony volunteer) can be found at her web site: https://www.safetyandsecuritysource.com/about.
Congratulations, Tracey!
Please remember that a Standing Ovation Award is given by AMSOV each calendar quarter, so AMSOV is now accepting nominations for the next award. The nomination deadline is January 15, 2025. The AMSOV board is meeting on February 1, 2025, and will finalize the award choice at that meeting.
Please submit your nomination! The process is easy. Check under our Awards tab for a downloadable PDF copy of our nomination form. There is no fee for nominating a person for this award.
AMSOV Hosts Successful Fall Webinar
AMSOV was pleased to host a very successful webinar on October 14, 2024, on the subject of “Aligning Volunteer and Orchestra Goals.” The webinar was held on Zoom.
Our speaker at the webinar was Dr. Holly Hull Miori, an experienced speaker and author who has researched many topics relating to nonprofit organizations, nonprofit fundraising and similar topics. She spoke at our AMSOV Conference in April 2024 and was terrific, and was equally articulate in addressing this additional topic for us. Her focus was on the newer generation of symphony volunteers, attracting Millennials and others to events related to our symphony orchestras, and the types of volunteer activities that interest Millennials and would entice them to become more involved as volunteers with our orchestras.
AMSOV plans to host another webinar in the Spring of 2025, so keep a look out on this website in in our newsletter for those plans!
WHY JOIN AMSOV?
The opportunity to meet in concentrated effort with Symphony volunteers from across North America has been a complete pleasure. I left this past conference in Kansas City with many intriguing ideas to share with my Board and a number of action points to accomplish. Membership in AMSOV is essential as we all seek to support our orchestras in the most effective ways. Many thanks to my Kansas City colleagues who showed the rest us us a wonderful time at the recent conference.
Nancy L.
Dallas
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I am honored to have been involved in AMSOV as the organization’s treasurer. AMSOV is a great volunteer led organization with a diverse and talented board, there is nothing like it for supporting and increasing the knowledge of symphony volunteers. The Kansas City Conference was my first AMSOV Conference experience, and what an awesome experience it was. I learned so much to take back to my Seattle Symphony volunteer organization. I’m very much looking forward to continuing my learning and networking at the Toronto Conference in 2026.
Jeff H.
Seattle
I have attended three AMSOV conferences and I have come away from each conference so much richer in various ways. Not only is it a great opportunity to meet new fellow music lovers, but also to forge new friendships and learn from one another. One big eye opener at the most recent Kansas City conference was to learn that it is possible to have volunteer organizations support symphony orchestras without actually playing a fundraising role. I also enjoy tremendously the presentations and discussions by panelists consisting of professionals at the highest levels in the symphony orchestra music world. All in all, it is amazing to see what groups of volunteers can accomplish.
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Rose G.
Dallas
The best thing about AMSOV are all the friendships that I have developed along the way. As volunteers, when we share and work together using our unique proficiencies and experiences, the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. I am indebted to AMSOV for all the
one-of-a-kind experiences that I have had visiting symphony volunteer organizations in the United States and Canada and the opportunity to attend outstanding performances of their symphonies.
Mike M.
Kansas City
In the 20+ years that I have been a member of AMSOV, I have greatly appreciated how the organization supports and champions North America’s major symphony orchestra volunteer groups. Its conferences, website and email newsletters inform groups about orchestral activity and developments. The conferences provide educational sessions from renowned speakers on innovation, advocacy, projects and fundraising, and leadership advancement. Friendships with the volunteer groups have been formed and sustained through the many years. I am excited to go to Kansas City in 2024 to greet longtime friends and make new friendships from the member orchestras.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MEMBERSHIP OR TO JOIN, CLICK HERE.
Deborah B.
Dallas