A New Direction

by P.L. Grove

As Jenny Cauhorn moves on in a new direction this spring, I thought it might be prudent to take a look back at some of her major accomplishments while she has been here at Handbell Musicians of America (HMA). I’m sure this article doesn’t create an exhaustive list, but I wanted you to get a some sense of all that Jenny has achieved while she has been here.

In 2006, Jennifer Cauhorn became executive director of what was then AGEHR. If you ask her, she will tell you she wasn’t looking for the job, but it was her love for handbells that motivated her to apply when she ran across the job posting. Thirteen and a half years later, HMA has gained some significant achievements because of Jenny.

As executive director, Jenny is the face of the organization, and she spends a good portion of her time implementing the goals set by the National Board, supervising staff, developing and monitoring the annual budget, organizing and executing our national events, and assisting the area leaders, among many other things. That’s a lot.

But on top of that extensive day-to-day list, during her tenure, Jenny has helped HMA not only to stay financially stable, but also to move forward in its goals to become a more cohesive and prominent organization. Along the way, she has developed our national events to a level that makes attendees want to return every year.

During Jenny’s time as executive director, the following notable events and programs took place and were implemented under her watch:

• Handbell Musicians of America sold its office building in Ohio and moved to a virtual office setting, which helped alleviate a funding shortfall and facilitated a significant annual budget savings (nearly $20,000/year in office supplies and technology).
• During Jenny’s first National Seminar, the facility contract was canceled, and she successfully handled the move of the event to another location.
• At Pinnacle 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee, the event site was flooded, and she successfully facilitated the move of the event to another location.
• At Pinnacle 2015 in Dallas, Texas, the facility contract was canceled, and she successfully facilitated the move of the event to another location.
• At Distinctly Bronze East in 2018, the event was canceled due to Hurricane Florence, and she successfully rescheduled the event to the following spring — and even started a new intermediate ringing event, Reaching for Bronze.
• Jenny designed and implemented the Back to Bells program to help reinvigorate handbell programs around the country and teach new ringers basic handbell techniques and maintenance.
• She ushered in the College Ring-In event.
• Distinctly Teen was added to the National Seminar event.
• The Virtual Bell Academy was implemented.
• The Certification Program was implemented.
• Although she might say she’s not a fundraiser, she oversaw several major fundraising efforts including much-needed changes to our membership dues structure, the Heritage Fund, the Legacy Society, and the Sustaining Partners, all for the good of the organization’s financial health.
• She was instrumental in the rebranding of our organization which resulted in the change of our name to Handbell Musicians of America.
• Since 2008, Jenny has served as an assistant to the International Handbell Committee, helping to ensure the success of the International
  Handbell Symposium every two years. The International Handbell community has greatly valued her input and guidance.
• Perhaps Jenny’s favorite accomplishment is overseeing The Big Ring in November 2016, the event that put the Handbell Musicians of America into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Jenny is leaving this organization as a full-time employee, but you might still see her around in her capacity as a consultant over the next few months, or down the road possibly behind the tables. Because, like all of us, Jenny Cauhorn loves handbells. If, like me, you are in awe of her accomplishments on behalf of HMA over the past 13-1/2 years, make it a point to stop her and personally say thank you.

This article is my way of collectively saying thank you to Jenny on behalf of all of us. As Jenny moves on in a new direction, we know that our handbell community has been enriched and improved because of her talents. Jenny might be a bit more modest and simply say that because of handbells she became an executive director. I would add to that, because of Jenny, Handbell Musicians of America was made all the better for it.

P.L. Grove
[email protected]

P.L. Grove
National Board President