Executive Committee
 
| President
PO Box 13
Arkport, NY
14807-0013 | Jim is a founding member of the Hornell Area Wind Ensemble that was organized in 1986 and has served an officer of this group since since its inception. Jim was first introduced to the Association of Concert Bands when the Hornell Area Wind Ensemble was invited to perform at the Association of Concert Bands national convention in April of 1990 in Rochester, New York. He joined the association as an individual member in 1993 and became a life member in 1999. He has attended every national convention since 1994 and has served on the Board of Directors since 2000. Currently Jim plays tuba in The Hornell Area Wind Ensemble, The Corning Area Community Concert Band, The Wellsville Performing Arts Orchestra, The Southern Tier Symphony and Sterling Brass. He is also a member of Windjammers Unlimited and regularly attends their summer meets. Jim is the owner of Sterling Airways, Inc., a firm he co-founded in 1973. His company operates two general aviation airports in Western New York, providing charter flights, flight instruction, and aircraft fueling and maintenance services.
|  | Judy Shellenberger
President - Elect
117 West Hill Drive
Williamsport, PA 17701
(570) 326-4807
| Judith B. Shellenberger retired in June 2005 after serving 36 years as a band director in the Williamsport Area School District. She holds a BS degree in music education from Mansfield University with graduate work at S.U.N.Y. Potsdam, University of Michigan, Penn State University, and Lycoming College. She received the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association “Citation of Excellence” Teaching Award. She has served as clinician for PMEA and has articles published in the PMEA News, the National Band Association JOURNAL and ACB'S JOURNAL. She was elected to the National Band Association Board of Directors as an Elementary-Middle School Representative. She has served as an adjudicator for bands and orchestras in Pennsylvania and Virginia and as a middle school band consultant in Connecticut. Judy has been with with the famous Repasz Band (Est. 1831) of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the past 44 years playing French horn and has served as business manager since 1984. She is life member of ACB and an active member of Windjammers Unlimited, Inc. Judy served as the chairman of the ACB National Convention, which was held in Williamsport in 2006. | 
| Don Snowden
Past President
1020 E Jordan St
Unit B
Pensacola, FL
32503-4752
850-484-1802
| Don Snowden has been the music director of the Pensacola Civic Band, in Pensacola, Florida, since 1987. He has built the band from a group of 50 players to its current size of more than 80 players. In 2002, the Civic Band was selected as the recipient of the Sudler Silver Scroll Award, presented by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The Civic Band was chosen to perform at three national conventions of the Association of Concert Bands, hosted the convention in 2001 and will host again in 2007. In 2001, he was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Association of Concert Bands. He served as president of the Association of Concert Bands in 2007 and 2008
| Appointed Officers |  | Nada Vencl Montgomery
Secretary
6613 Cheryl Ann Dr.
Independence, OH 44131
800-726-8720; 216-524-1897 | Nada is a flute and piccolo player from Independence, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. She plays with the Lakeland Civic Band (a Sudler Silver Scroll award winner), the Eastwinds Quintet, and is also an accompanist at Lakeland Community College and Independence High School. Another part-time job, a musical or two a year, and private students help fill in her schedule. She serves on the Board of the Windjammers Unlimited - a circus music historical society. She is the mother of two grown daughters. Nada is a life member and former board member of ACB and became the ACB secretary in 1996. In 1997 she was awarded the ACB's Leland A. Lillehaug President's Award. She truly enjoys talking with and meeting community band people from around the country.
|  | Bloomingdale, IL 60108-1262 630-529-2295
| Howard Habenicht currently resides in Sandwich, Illinois, and is a member of the Naperville Municipal Band. Howard serves the organization as its treasurer, a post which he has filled for the past 12 years. He was a founding member of the West Suburban Concert Band in LaGrange, Illinois and served that organization on several different occasions as president, treasurer, and director. Howard has also been a member of Windjammers Unlimited since 1986 and currently serves on its board of directors. He is presently treasurer of the Association of Concert Bands, Inc. and has served in that capacity since 1996. Howard recently retired from Vibro/Dynamics Corporation, a firm that manufactures industrial machinery mounts and mounting systems, where he was president and chief financial officer. He has been a CPA since 1967 and was associated with a large international CPA firm from 1961 to 1980. | | | Judy Shellenberger
National Membership
Co-Chair
(East of Mississippi River)
117 West Hill Drive
Williamsport, PA 17701
(570) 326-4807
| Judith B. Shellenberger retired in June 2005 after serving 36 years as a band director in the Williamsport Area School District. She holds a BS degree in music education from Mansfield University with graduate work at S.U.N.Y. Potsdam, University of Michigan, Penn State University, and Lycoming College. She received the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association “Citation of Excellence” Teaching Award. She has served as clinician for PMEA and has articles published in the PMEA News, the National Band Association JOURNAL and ACB'S JOURNAL. She was elected to the National Band Association Board of Directors as an Elementary-Middle School Representative. She has served as an adjudicator for bands and orchestras in Pennsylvania and Virginia and as a middle school band consultant in Connecticut. Judy has been with with the famous Repasz Band (Est. 1831) of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the past 44 years playing French horn and has served as business manager since 1984. She is life member of ACB and an active member of Windjammers Unlimited, Inc. Judy served as the chairman of the ACB National Convention, which was held in Williamsport in 2006.
|  | Deirdre Nalven
National Membership Co-Chair
(West of Mississippi River)
5943 S. Florence Ct.
Englewood, CO 80111
(303) 694-6161
| Deirdre Nalven is a 9-year member of ACB, a clarinetist, and an active 25-year member of the Denver Concert Band. She has served ACB as a member of its Board of Directors for the past four years and has attended all conventions since 1996. She has also represented ACB at the Midwest Clinic for the last 5 years. For the last 5 years, she has served as Regional Membership Chair for Colorado and three other states. Other ACB contributions are the Tribute and Memorial Gifts Program; Travel Company Selection Committee member and Membership Benefits Chair. She earned a BA degree from the University of Wisconsin and is a former teacher as well as a 23-year employee in the oil and gas industry. Her goal remains to promote and foster the community band movement in the United States and throughout the world. |  | Delbert A. Eisch
Historian
315 Wilnette Spring Dr.
Racine, WI, 53405
262-632-5696 | Historian Del Eisch is a past president of ACB (1987-88). He served as membership chairman for five years and also two terms on the Board of Directors. Del is eminently qualified to serve as historian. He is the only person to have attended all conventions to date. He has kept a log on all music performed at the conventions as well as all clinic sessions and clinicians. He is the former conductor of the Racine (WI) Municipal Band which performed at ACB conventions in 1981, 1984 and 1993. The band is also a Sudler Scroll recipient. |  | Publications Coordinator 3600 W Congress Lafayette, LA 70506
337-981-6638
| Gerald Guilbeaux is a Past President of the Association of Concert Bands and now serves as the ACB Publications Coordinator. He has twice been awarded the Citation of Excellence by the National Band Association and received the Diploma of the Sudler Order of Merit by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. Mr. Guilbeaux is an active guest conductor and adjudicator and serves on the Selection Committee for the Sudler Silver Scroll. He represents the ACB as an elected associate member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. A member of the Lafayette Concert Band since its inception in 1982, Gerald Guilbeaux has been the Conductor/Music Director of the band since 1993. He is also the founder and conductor of the Acadian Wind Symphony, a select 50 piece wind ensemble which performs during the summer months and at special events. Under his direction, the Lafayette Concert Band became the 1999 recipient of the Sudler Silver Scroll, an international award recognizing excellence in adult community bands, administered by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. He and his wife Beth make their home in Lafayette, Louisiana and are the proud parents of three daughters, Amy, Lynn and Chrissy. Granddaughters, Carly and Cameryn also add joy to their family lives.
|  | Michael Montgomery
Chief Information Officer
6613 Cheryl Ann Dr. Independence, OH 44131-3718
216-447-1009 | Mike is a retired computer systems manager. He played in the Sudler Scroll Winning Naperville (IL) Municipal Band for 18 years before moving to Ohio. He has been a member of Windjammers Unlimited, a Circus Music Historical Society since 1987 and was secretary/treasurer of that organization from 1993 - 2007 and continues as Secretary. He has been a member of the ACB since 1991 and has served two terms on the Board of Directors. He also serves the ACB as chief information officer and webmaster. Mike is not a band director but a low brass musician and plays cornet, euphonium, trombone and tuba. Personal highlights include playing with the Allentown (PA) Band on two of their European tours, The West Suburban (Chicago) Symphony, The Sicilian Band of Chicago and is a member of Lakeland Civic Band of Kirtland Ohio, The Brecksville/Broadview Hghts (OH) Band, The Bay Village (OH) Band, The Cuyahoga Community College West Band and The Independence (OH) Town Band. | Board of Directors |  | 2008 - 2011
| Mr. Vince Chrisman was appointed in 2008 as Assistant Conductor of the Ypsilanti Community Band where he plays bass trombone. Prior to this appointment he was the Music Director and Conductor of the Clarkston Community Band from 2004 to 2008. Mr. Chrisman received his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 1981 and his graduate degree from Central Michigan University in 1988. His music studies were from both Wayne State University and Eastern Kentucky University. While at Wayne State University Mr. Chrisman studied music under Professor Harold Arnoldi and Dr. Walter Poole and conducting under Dr. Robert Hartwell at Eastern Kentucky University. Mr. Chrisman has attended the Annual Conductors Symposium by the Michigan Band & Orchestra Association. Mr. Chrisman has conducted numerous community bands including the South Oakland Concert Band, Greater Windsor Concert Band and Ein Prosit the German Band. An accomplished bass trombone player, Mr. Chrisman plays trombone and euphonium and has studied with Mr. Joesph Skrinsky of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Mr. Joseph Hambrick of the Lexington Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the Association of Concert Bands Convention Band, Queen City Concert Band, Southwestern Ohio Symphonic Band, Troy Community Orchestra, Warren Concert Band, South Oakland Concert Band, and the Blue Lakes Fine Arts Festival Adult Band. Mr. Chrisman has composed or arranged a number of pieces for concert band. In 2002 the South Oakland Concert Band premiered his first band arrangement “ Time to Say Goodbye.” His professional memberships include National Band Association and The Association of Concert Bands where he serves on the Board of Directors. In 2006, Mr. Chrisman was honored with the Michigan Recreation and Parks Association Community Service Award for his work with the Clarkston Community Band. |  |
| Mrs. Brechting is in her eleventh year as the Conductor and Musical Director of the West Michigan Concert WINDS. She holds a BME and MA and has been involved with community bands since 1980 as a performer, board member and librarian. Gail has been a member of ACB since 2003. The WINDS were one of the featured ensembles at the 2005 Quincy, IL ACB Convention and were a John Philip Sousa Foundation Silver Scroll Award Recipient in 2005. Gail is an active adjudicator and guest conductor throughout the United States and Europe and has recently been invited to represent ACB at the 2006 Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Gail is a music educator of twenty-eight years, the past twenty-two with the Reeths-Puffer Public Schools and eleven with Muskegon Community College. She lives in Spring Lake with her husband, Frank and their seven year old daughter Annelise.
|  | Cliff Towner
Sioux City, IA
2009 - 2012 | Mr. Clifford N. Towner is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Morningside College. His responsibilities include conducting the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Brass Ensemble, as well as teaching music theory, brass pedagogy, trumpet and conducting. He also directs the Morningside Athletic Bands (The Morningside Outdoor Band and Fever Pep Band). Cliff is also the music director of the All-America Concert Band in Sioux City Iowa. The AACB is a community band consisting of 65 amateur and professional musicicans from around the Siouxland area. Mr. Towner earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 1993 and a Masters in Music Education from Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio) in 2004. Before coming to Morningside College, he taught high school music for ten years in the Cincinnati area, the last eight of those at McNicholas High School. He also directed the Anderson Community band in Cincinnati for four years before relocating to Iowa. Throughout his career, Mr. Towner’s ensembles have received many accolades including superior ratings at both the district and state levels. Ensembles under his direction have also toured in a variety of areas in the United States. He has extensive experience directing concert bands, marching bands, jazz bands, pep bands and brass ensembles. Mr. Towner also maintains an active schedule as a popular guest conductor and clinician for high school groups, and honor bands throughout the region. Mr. Towner is a member Music Educators National Conference (MENC), College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), Iowa Bandmasters Association (IBA), Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and has been listed in the several editions of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. He resides in Sioux City, Iowa with his wife Gina and their daughter Laura.
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|  | Harvey McIntyre
Hot Springs Village, AR
2008 - 2011 | Harvey McIntyre is a 1958 graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in economics. Prior to his graduation from college, he served four years in the U.S. Air Force. McIntyre began playing the clarinet in 1940 while in grade school, giving it up in 1952 when he enlisted in the Air Force. In 1986 he picked up the instrument and began playing with the Chester County Concert Band in suburban Philadelphia. McIntyre joined the Hot Springs Community Band (now the Concert Band) in January 1990. He was elected president of the band in October 1997, a position in which he continues to serve. Over the years he has managed to work his way down to the contra-alto clarinet, but prefers playing the bass clarinet. He and his wife Jay have three children and three grandchildren. |  | Nancy Michalek
Frisco, TX
2008-2011
| Nancy Michalek plays flute and piccolo for the love of making music. She has played in the Plano Community Band for 15 years and plays in other musical ensembles such as the New Life Symphony Orchestra, her church orchestra, and several pit orchestras for musicals in the Dallas area. She is very active in the Plano Community Band and served on the band board for nine years. She has been a life member of ACB since 1997. Nancy has 30 years' experience in business and information technology. She is currently a strategic development manager at EDS (Electronic Data Systems) in Plano, Texas. Nancy leads company-wide projects that typically span multiple organizations and geographies. Nancy is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a concentration in cultural geography. Nancy and her husband live in Texas. |  | Newburgh, NY 2007 - 2010
| Arthur B. Himmelberger received the “Legion of Merit” medal in 2002 for 26 years of meritorious service as a U.S. Army bandsman. He was a member of the U.S. Army Field Band, Washington, DC; the U.S. Military Academy Band, West Point, NY and was attached to the Berlin Brigade Band in Germany during celebratory ceremonies after the fall of the Berlin Wall. He holds a BM degree from the Univ. of Michigan and both a M.Ed. degree and Ed. Admin. Certificate from Temple University. Art is currently Chair of the Music Dept. and Director of Bands at Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY. As a young man he conducted school bands. His Governor Mifflin High School Band of Shillington, PA performed in the 1980 Orange Bowl Parade, was the “Official Representative” from the State of Pennsylvania at the Knoxville World’s Fair and it received superior ratings (performing Grade 6 literature) at PMEA large ensemble festivals. Art’s Community Band experiences began in 1956 when, at the age of six, he joined the Keystone Band of Rehrersburg, PA. He has been active with Community Bands over these past 50 years and currently performs with the famous “Allentown Band.” Art is sought after as a performer, guest conductor and clinician -- most notable, he presented clinics at the CBDNA Eastern Region Conference, The Midwest Clinic, The Great American Brass Band Conference and the 2006 ACB National Convention. He is also Curator of the renowned -- “Robert Hoe Foundation Music Library.”
|  | Glenview, IL 2007 - 2010
| Bill has been involved with ACB since 1989. Combining his experience in both music and medicine, he has written numerous medical articles for the Advance and has presented a variety of music-medicine clinics at our Conventions. He currently is a Director of the Association and serves as the Life Member chairperson. A retired hand surgeon, he is the Immediate Past-President of the Performing Arts Medicine Association and serves on the Editorial Board of its journal and as the medical consultant to the International Double Reed Society. Bill is a 22-year member of the Glenview (IL) Concert Band and also is the principal bassoonist and contrabassoonist of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra and the Community Orchestra of the Music Institute of Chicago. For the past eleven years he has taught bassoon and low reeds privately in Chicagoland. He is a member of MENC and IMEA. | 
| Gainesville, FL. 2009 -2012
| Geoff is a past ACB Board Member and a Life Member of the Association of Concert Bands. He is a Licensed Real Estate Broker and Instructor from Gainesville, Florida and has been President of his own company Spiegel Inc., Realtors for the last 25 years. He is a Past President of the Gainesville Community Band and was on the committees that produced the ACB Conventions in 1995 and 2003 in Gainesville. He also attended the 2007 Convention in Pensacola Beach. In addition to his Real Estate career, Geoff is an active musician playing alto, tenor, and bass trombone and has played with the Gainesville Symphony, the Gainesville Philharmonic, the Central Florida Symphony, and the Central Florida Festival Orchestra. He is a founding member of Gainesville Pops! and a member of the FMEA clinic Jazz Ensemble. He is also a clinician teaching marching band techniques as well as a brass clinician throughout the North Central Florida region. He was a member of the All-American College Band at Walt Disney World, Florida, and the Assistant Director of the Marching Band at the University of Central Florida, Orlando. Geoff is an advisor for the Florida Alpha Chapter of Phi Delta Theta and the Eta Omega Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He has served on many Volunteer Civic Boards in the Gainesville area and is listed in "Who's Who in Executives and Professionals". In addition Geoff is an ordained Elder and Trustee at the First Presbyterian Church of Gainesville |
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