Region 26 is comprised of the three western Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, plus the three northern territories of Yukon, Northwest and Nunuvut. The region is governed by a Management Team of eight, having transferred from the Board of Directors style of governance in 1998.
The Region was created in 1981 with the redrawing of several International boundaries. Previously, it had been part of a much larger region, #13 – which encompassed not only all of the current region 26, but the U.S. states of Washington and Alaska as well. Original membership was 923 in 22 chapters and it has remained fairly consistently at the 1,000 member mark ever since. The inaugural convention/competitions were held in 1982 in Vancouver. The winning chorus was Chinook Winds of Calgary, and the champion quartet, Shades of Harmony, also from Chinook Winds.
The first foray by a regional member onto the International scene was by Joey Minshall as a member of the International Music Arranger's Program. Joey is still a prolific and highly sought-after arranger of great imagination. When International made the decision to separate BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan from Region 13 and create Region 26, Joey was the first Director of Musical Activities (DMA, now Education Coordinator). She created the Director Certification Program, and International adopted the DCP as a way to train Directors and musical leaders. In 1997 Marcia Pinvidic went International as the region's first Approved Judge in Expression. She is currently a member of the International Faculty, a Certified Expression Judge, and Judge Specialist Moderator. Sandy Robinson Marron followed her lead. She is currently a member of the International Faculty, and is an Approved Sound Judge. Judy Pozsgay Rimple is an Approved Candidate Judge in the Showmanship category and an International Faculty Associate. The newest entry into the judging program is Lisa Greenough, a candidate judge in the Showmanship Category. Three members of Region #26 have served on the International Board of Directors - Ellen Gallacher, Cammi MacKinlay and Marcia Pinvidic. Cammi is the current International President and Marcia is newly appointed to the Board. Elaine Cotton has served on the now-disbanded International Showcase Committee. Corinna Garriock is a member of the Published Music Sales/Marketability Committee. And of course, Region 26 is very proud to be the home of the 2004 International Quartet Champions, Brava! (Sandy Robinson Marron, Lynn Gerard, Shannon Harris, Elaine Cotton).
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