Woodrow D. McKeehan* (1984) known to all as “Mac,” served the Guild in many capacities on both area and national levels. For more than 40 years, he served as the director of music at First United Methodist Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, which is where he first became interested in handbells. His choirs participated in many Guild festivals, and Mac himself often participated as a solo ringer and clinician. He served as Area IX chair in the late 1960s and early 1970s (before the areas were realigned to 12), and then served as national registrar from 1971 to 1975. In 1975, Mac was elected national treasurer, a position he held until 1983. During his tenure as treasurer, he did much to help the Guild plan wisely for its future. In 1983 the national board of directors’ established the W. D. McKeehan Scholarship as a tribute to all that Mac had done for the Guild. In the years since its establishment, many individuals have received scholarships to attend either a National Festival or a National Directors’ Seminar. Mac died on Nov. 28, 1987.
