2026 Delegates Meeting Highlights -- Part 2

This summary is meant to let you know about decisions made and subjects discussed at the 2026 Delegates Meeting held on May 1-3 in Buffalo, New York.  When the minutes are published in a few months, there will be much more detail.
Vorplattler Meeting Notes

• Several changes were made to the Jugend Critique section to better explain what is expected.
• Changes were made in the article that describes how Gaurichter are selected and trained. Now that Buam and Dirndl are judged separately, all the judges in the Judges Pool, all judges are trained every year.
• The Gaujugendvertreter now joins the four other dance officers who train and evaluate judges’ performance.
• Two proposals were tabled for further discussion. One proposal recommended that the choice of dance for Gruppenpreisplatteln be at the discretion of the Verein rather than being “pulled from a hat” and limited to three dances. Both sides offered great arguments about why we should stick with the traditional three or let groups choose the dance they feel would best showcase their best performance.  The other proposal tabled was to allow joint/mixed Gruppenpreisplatteln teams consisting of two or more Vereine. The goal is to allow more teams to participate.
• A proposal that was not approved was that all competitions must be held indoors; no outdoor venues.

Administrative Meeting Notes

• Most of the changes were made to streamline or better explain various articles in the Bylaws/Operating Rules/Guidelines. One of these proposals rearranged the Operating Rules to include many items currently in Guidelines.  The few remaining Guidelines are now in an Appendix.
• Flag committee operating rules were updated with more detail to align with the current practice.
• New membership applications must be submitted two months prior to the Delegates Meeting (was three months). The nomination forms for officers for submission were also changed to two months vs three months in advance of a Delegates Meeting.
• The Nominations Committee responsibilities were expanded with more detail of how that committee operates.
• Beginning with the 2027 calendar year, prices for Gauzeitung subscriptions and Christmas greetings will increase for the first time since 2019.
• A new appendix to the Operating Rules will contain a fee schedule that shows at a glance all fees paid by Gau-NA member Vereine. It will be updated every two years.
• Two proposals were combined into one and will be studied by a committee. The committee will investigate how remote attendance at a Delegates Meeting could be done or how to provide virtual access.
• Proposals will be studied by the Gaurevisoren in advance of the Delegates Meeting. The financial impact to the Gauverband will be assessed and presented in conjunction with the proposal itself.

2027 Gaufest:  Edelweiss Reading presented more details about the 2027 Gaufest to be held in Lancaster, PA. There are three hotels and the room rates are the same. The special rates are available for one day before and one day after the Gaufest. Parking for the main hotel is $15/day but free for the other two hotels. Ticket prices are $270 for 16+; $100 for ages 3-15; and free for children under 3. The 31. Gaufest website is now live.
 
Paul Ulrich Sr. Scholarships: The four winners of this year’s scholarships were announced and the recipients were notified. $8,000 total were awarded this year. The Gauzeitung will have their names and photos.
 
Workshops: Four workshops were held.  A Meetings Workshop where participants learn about hosting a Delegates Meeting or a Gaufest and how to get started. A workshop presented some great information about how to use technology to survey the needs of a Verein and analyze the results.  Another group learned how to play Schafkopf and played a few rounds. After the meeting sessions were done for the day, the dance officers taught two lively dances that had the dance floor jumping. After the new dances were taught, another hour or two was spent doing other Volkstänze to the sounds of three talented musicians – Musikwart Rick Michels, Michael Leggett, and Ian Hargreaves.
 
Judges: We have two new applicants for judges: Caitlin Keillor and Brian Oberneder who will begin training this year. In addition, as Rudy Leschke and Karin Schwab stepped down from their offices as Gauvorplattler and Gauvortänzerin, they were invited to become judges. Both accepted and are happy to continue serving the Gauverband.
 
Gau-NA Participation in 2028 Münchner Oktoberfest: It’s official! Gau-NA has been invited to walk in the Oktoberfest Trachtenzug on September 17, 2028. More will be forthcoming on the website and in the Gauzeitung about registering starting August 2027 (yes, over a year in advance!).
 
Our Gauverband officers work hard during their two-year terms. Ours is a large, multi-faceted organization that includes tradition as well as general business. Be sure to read the officer reports that are on the website to see what everyone has been up to.