Ron Manus, CEO of Alfred Music, along with 91 other music industry leaders and artists, made up a delegation of advocates furthering the case that all children deserve quality, comprehensive school music education programs during the National Association of Music Merchants’ (NAMM) Music Education Advocacy D.C. Fly-In.
With the recent passage of the federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the delegation met with their Members of Congress in support of the passage of the bill and to reinforce the importance of music being listed as part of a well-rounded education for all children at the state-level.
The Advocacy week began on Monday, May 23 with a Day of Service. Alfred Music was proud to support the Day of Service component of this event with $2,600 worth of band, orchestra, and guitar materials, including five Guitar Packs, to the Tech Prep Middle School.
That evening, he joined The NAMM Foundation in awarding the SupportMusic Champion Award to Senator Lamar Alexander (TN) for his life-long commitment to music education.
As part of the trip, Manus met with Representatives Allison Lewis, Legislative Assistant, Congressman Adam B. Schiff (D-CA-28th); Anna Hevia, Legislative Assistant, Congressman Tony Cardenas (D-CA-29th); Travis Galloway, Defense Legislative Fellow, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA-49th); K.C. Jaski, Legislative Assistant, Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA-52nd); and Jean Fundakowski, Legislative Assistant, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA-26th) about the importance of music education and the support needed to insure that each student has the opportunity to learn music in school; a message that Manus will continue to advocate for at home.
