MEPA News

Back in late June, the MEPA Board and Membership gathered to review and wrap up the 2025 season. As part of the meeting, ensemble directors and staff members discussed a number of Proposals for Change that were submitted by their peers. Some items were tabled or withdrawn after a brief discussion, and some were elaborated and debated at length. In the end, all of the items that made it to a vote were supported and passed by the voting membership. Here is a summary of the policy changes that will be in effect for the 2026 season:

• Member groups must now compete in at least one contest within the first three weeks of the season. The previous policy was within the first two weeks.
• MEPA will align closer to the Plus Pass policy of WGI than our past staff pass arrangement. Each Member Group will receive one director badge, plus one additional staff badge if they attend the Season Kick Off Event, AND has the option to purchase SEVEN additional Staff Badges for $275 which are good for all contests in the season. The previous policy was any amount of badges up to five for $50 each.
• Concert Percussion groups will now perform on the schedule in alignment with the marching percussion groups. The previous policy had all concert groups performing in the same block/round regardless of class, then all marching groups performing.
• Timing Penalties will not be enforced in the first three weeks of the season. The previous policy was in the first two weeks.
• MEPA will take all steps possible to get a full panel at critique, and notify the ensembles of which members of the panel will be participating.
• Junior Color Guard has been renamed to Junior High Color Guard.
• Percussion Championship Prelims has been eliminated except in the event that there are 16 or more groups registered in one class.

For the complete and current version of the MEPA Rules & Policies Handbook, CLICK HERE.

We are proud that 100% of our board members who sought an additional two-year term were all reelected back in June, and we’re just as excited to welcome an additional four new members to the Board for 2026, thus creating the largest MEPA Board of Directors in our history.

2026 MEPA Executive Board of Directors

• Jodi Fairbanks, President
• Matt Hahn, Vice President, Percussion & Winds
• Heather Graham, Vice President, Color Guard
• John Espy, Treasurer
• Gina Roberts, Secretary
• Mike Maegly, Education Director, Percussion & Winds
• Alex Holland, Education Director, Color Guard

2026 MEPA Board of Directors

• Cathy Barnes Miller, Amanda Miller, Seth Rivetti-Sharpe, Erica Sleppy, John Wheeler; Color Guard Representatives.
• Drew Brown, Brandon Dittgen, Casey Layer, Nick Riley, Ted Smith; Percussion Representatives.
• Alex Khatibloo, John Oliver; Winds Representatives.

2025-26 Committee Chairs

• Color Guard Classification, Heather Graham.
• Percussion & Winds Classification, Matt Hahn.
• Scholarship, Amanda MIller.
• History, Cathy Barnes Miller.
• Hall of Fame, Matt Hahn.
• Show Host & Site Selection, Jon Shaw.

For immediate release:

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

The Mid East Performance Association is excited to share significant developments that have taken place over the summer months.

Following an amazing season and a truly special Circuit Championships held back in April, the MEPA Board of Directors held its annual Board meeting on June 23rd, followed by the annual Membership meeting right after. The Board is happy to report that membership and show host fees will remain the same for the upcoming 2025 season. They also extended the contract of Jonathon Shaw, Director of Operations, for another three years. The membership voted to keep the Executive Board the same for the third consecutive season, and two new members were elected to an already full board, thus creating an expansion in the Guard Representatives by one person.

The membership voted on a variety of topics focused on benefitting performers and ensembles alike. Additionally, significant work was made on defining the non-WGI color guard classes. Furthermore, the membership voted back in the spring to remove the Regional AA and Scholastic AA classes. To replace these, MEPA has created a Novice class and a National A class. New judging sheets are almost finalized for these classes, and new sheets will be implemented for the Line class, which will now be on a rating system and not on a ranking system. We will have the new sheets along with more information for Novice and Line available to ensemble directors in the coming month. An updated Rules & Policies Handbook, as well as updated sheets will be released on the MEPA website prior to season registration.

Over the summer, MEPA explored new and larger performance venues in Ohio that host high school, collegiate, and professional sports teams. Of the arenas on this list, MEPA is actively pursuing a large Color Guard contest this coming season at UCincinnati’s Fifth/Third Arena as well as the Cintas Center at Xavier University. We also anticipate a return to the Nutter Center on Saturday, March 8th, and our Championships on March 29th and 30th, 2025. All dates and venues are still subject to availability from the Horizon League, the Big XII, and the Big East Conferences which are expected to announce their schedules in the next few weeks.

After a search for a new Color Guard Judge Administrator, MEPA concluded interviews and has hired Keith Baker to begin working in this role starting immediately. Keith is a local WGI judge who just this month was on the DCI Championships panel. The Board looks forward to the additional services he will be able to provide for the circuit, including educational opportunities for instructors and judges in the very near future. More information about Keith and his role will be released in early September.

Given the upward trend of success MEPA has had in recent years, discussions of a ‘sister circuit’ partnership are underway with the Alberta Marching and Performing Arts Association. The project is under the direction of Heather Graham, and both circuits are excited to start a welcoming, knowledge-sharing relationship.

Registration for the 2025 season will open several days earlier than recent years. MEPA member ensembles and guests can expect to start registering for the season on September 15th, 2024. This gives ensembles an additional two weeks to submit MEPA invoices to their school districts and music boosters so they can be paid within the extended timeframe. Registration for the 2025 contests will remain the same as before and start on November 1st, 2024.

Please mark your calendars for an exciting Zoom event hosted by MEPA: “Ask the Judges” on Sunday, November 24th at 7pm, ET. This is your chance to ask any questions you may have about the judging system to qualified judges or just sit in and listen to the conversation. Heading up this clinic will be our new Judge Administrator, Keith Baker, and joining him will be Warren Rickert for color guard, as well as Kent Baker and Tim Fairbanks for percussion and winds.

Other events to look forward to in the coming months are the annual MEPA Kick off Meeting held on the evening of January 4th, 2025. The exact time and location will be announced soon, but make arrangements now so everyone on your staff can attend this event. The 2025 MEPA competitive season will begin on Saturday, January 25th at Miamisburg High School and will include nearly a dozen performance opportunities prior to Circuit Championships at the end of March.

Pursuant to MEPA Bylaws, the Annual Summer Meeting will take place on Sunday, June 23rd, 2024 at 2pm at the Courtyard Marriott at UD Arena. At this meeting the Board of Directors will hold elections for various Board positions, as well as review proposals submitted from the membership.

Board Position Expired Term Elections & Vacancies:
-Vice President, Color Guard
-Treasurer
-Secretary
-Director of Education, Percussion
-Color Guard Representatives (2)
-Percussion Representatives (2)
-At-Large Board Members (5)

Proposals for Change
Each year following the competitive season, the percussion, winds, and color guard communities are given a chance to submit proposals to their peers to modify, amend, or improve any aspect of the activity and/or circuit they think might need some attention. To review the process or to submit a proposal, CLICK HERE.

The Courtyard Marriott is located at 2006 S Edwin C Moses Blvd, Dayton, OH 45417. Directors and Staff are encouraged to attend.