LHAB Blast: June 2026

Happy June! We hope you’re having a great summer so far. This is a busier month for LHAB as we gear up for Band Day this fall, so please be sure to read this email carefully for all the updates and announcements you need to stay current!

UT Athletics has confirmed that the Band Day game (10/31 vs. Mississippi State) will kick off in the evening between 5 and 7 p.m. Mark your calendars accordingly and get excited for us to enjoy a cooler night game together as LHAB!

Heads up! Recurring LHAB dues will be charged on July 1 (7/1/26). Log onto LHAB.org to change or cancel your membership level and check that your card information is current.

Hello LHAB!

It is time once again to search for new talent to join the LHAB Leadership Team. The Nominating Committee has begun its work to find those in LHAB who would like to serve for the next year. We thank all of you who support LHAB through monetary donations to our scholarship efforts. Now, you have an opportunity to give back to the LHB family through your time and talents. This is the most valuable gift you can give LHAB and LHB.

Have you ever thought about stepping into a leadership role with the Longhorn Alumni Band? Now is the time. LHAB Leadership applications are officially open, and I want to personally invite you to learn more about serving as an Officer, an appointed assistant, or on one of our committees.

I’m hosting two short Zoom info sessions, on two different days, so you can join whichever one fits your schedule best:

Session 1

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 at 7:00 PM CT

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Mjwc8RWJQaCgA4GqseCK5w

Session 2

Saturday, July 11, 2026 at 12:00 PM CT

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/EIxvdTcRSRORy9Ps6hUHxQ

You only need to attend one. Register for whichever works better, and you’ll receive a confirmation email with your personal join link.

We’ll talk honestly about what these roles actually involve: the time commitment, what a typical month looks like, and how the team supports each other.

The LHAB Leadership team understands we serve in a volunteer capacity, and we genuinely value your personal and family time. Leadership at LHAB should add meaning to your life, not take away from the people and commitments that matter most to you. This is for anyone who wants to give back to the organization we all love.

Why now: We’re opening nominations and applications for the upcoming LHAB Leadership election right now. You can nominate yourself, or nominate someone else you think would be great in one of these roles. The deadline to apply is end of August 2026.

Nominate or apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc5eUEWNI5gZMQNLo3WS3wVH60sc9jf34YbGVSyGx5kZQCDKA/viewform

If you can’t make either session but want to talk one-on-one, our current leadership team is ready to answer any questions you have. Send us a message!

Hook ‘Em! 🤘

Chris Albino

Immediate Past President & Nominating Committee Chair

We are currently making an effort to ensure that our LHAB membership database is as current as possible—we have over 4500 names in our database but are missing contact information for many members. Please log onto lhab.org and ensure your email, address, and phone number are current so you can stay connected with general LHAB communications, as well as those from your Area Representatives in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. Please reach out to Scott Johnson if you need help logging in or have questions.

The Houston area saw a great turnout for the Houston Exes Annual Gala and Fundraiser and received a generous donation toward the LHAB Charitable Fund. The next Houston event is the Montgomery County Exes Seniors send-off on July 23 at Herreras Mexican Restaurant on FM 242 at 6pm. Watch for details coming via email in the first week of July!

The 2026 (NAoAB) National Association of Alumni Bands Symposium was held at Virginia Tech and hosted by the Marching Virginians Band in Blacksburg, VA. This is the 6th annual alumni band conference held in conjunction with the CBDNA, College Band Directors National Association. Attendees are athletic band directors, music educators, and alumni band members, all designed to reconnect with colleagues, make new connections, and get inspired! In 2018, LHAB assisted in hosting the conference here at UT Austin with LHB, and it was at this conference that we established the National Association of Alumni Bands.

LHAB has long been a national leader in alumni bands and is respected for the work we’ve done over the years supporting our student musicians with annual alumni band day events, playing events, and a very robust scholarship program.

This conference was attended by Geof Sloan, both a past-president of LHAB and the founding president of NAoAB. Two of our fellow LHAB members are also on the board of directors for NAoAB, including Barbara Helbert and Bill Phillips. Several alumni band representatives attended from bands across the country, including Georgia, Florida, Michigan State, West Virginia University, Nebraska, Missouri, Florida State, Westchester University, University of Pittsburgh, Michigan, LSU, Ole Miss, Clemson, Dayton University, Troy University, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt.

Panelists presented valuable information to help us better understand the inner workings of alumni bands, relationships with athletic departments, band directors, alumni, and gift-giving donors. The theme of this year’s conference was “Being a Strategic Partner” to the band programs. One of the highlights was the National Tau Beta Sigma Paula Crider Award. This award was presented at the banquet to another college band director, Dr. Kenneth Ruff ’90, ’93, Ed.D., director of bands at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Geof recorded the presentation and sent the video to Professor Crider, and she was excited to learn we’re on the forefront of leading alumni bands.

Please keep an eye out for the NAoAB quarterly webinars, where alumni band reps from various groups will do presentations on various important issues concerning alumni bands. If you’re interested in learning more and participating in these webinars, please contact us via LHAB.org or contact Barbara Helbert, LHAB’s NAoAB Liaison.