Something a little different tonight. I’m a member of the Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (MACRAO), and we would have been meeting in Frankenmuth, Michigan, at the Bavarian Inn, for our Annual Conference this week. Instead, we put together a virtual version of our professional development sessions, and today was the longest day, with four session blocks spread over the entire day plus our annual business meeting at lunchtime.
I’m the president-elect of the association, but my role this week has been to be the behind-the-scene tech support for the several GoToMeeting “rooms” we set up for the sessions. All in all, things went pretty well; we had a few technical glitches, but it generally ran very smoothly.
The one thing nearly all of us miss is the chance to meet in person. I get a lot out of the formal presentations, but I get as much from the meals and after dinner gatherings, where you can share tips and ideas (or just commiserate over shared problems!). At the Bavarian Inn they usually have a solo performer singing cover songs in their lounge, and around 10 p.m. each evening, he or she leads the patrons in a rendition of “The Schnitzelbank Song,” a traditional German drinking song done in a call-and-answer format. The bar has napkins with the words on them so you can sing along.
Since we couldn’t be in Frankenmuth, I decided to record a version of the song for my friends – and friends I haven’t met yet – so they could sing along as if we’d been together. Until we meet again, MACRAO friends, here’s the song: