From The SAG-AFTRA Nashville President

It appears the heat has broken and I hope this finds you all well. I’m very proud to be the new president of our Nashville Local as we begin the next phase of forging our identity as the most powerful entertainment union in the world. First, a major thank you to everyone who volunteered to run for local office and our board of directors. We have a new National Board rep, five new board members, three new officers and seven newly elected convention delegates. This will certainly bring a sense of excitement and new ideas to our local, and I can’t wait to see what happens. I hope you’ve had a chance to visit the office and introduce yourself to our new executive director, Richard Van Syckle, or see our newly redecorated writers room, demo recording studio and video recording facility. So whether you need to write it, demo it or audition for it, we’ve now got you covered. Stay tuned, we’ve got plans.

I’d like to take a moment to thank some of our departing leadership. Tatiana Hancheroff and Jan Howard are ending their board service after many years, and Pat Alger will remain on the board but is stepping down as president. Their dedication to our union and its membership cannot be understated. A very special thanks to Cece DuBois, who served this local as a past president and National Board representative for over 20 years. She leaves a legacy of dedication and leadership that will never be matched. And, we say goodbye to our longtime executive Randy Himes, who retires after 37 years of service to our members and the national union. Whether it was finding a way to help local members in need, creatively finding  ways to cover work under our contracts or negotiating national sound recording deals, Randy did it all.

Lastly, we suffered a huge loss with the death of Jim Ed Brown. Jim Ed served on our local board for almost 30 years. His easygoing manner, wisdom, wit and wise council meant so much to me and many others when we began our union service. He was a great man.

In solidarity,

Mike Montgomery