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Alfred Reed was a native New Yorker-born in Manhattan on January 25, 1921. His parents loved good music and made it part of their daily lives; as a result, he was well acquainted with most of the standard symphonic and operatic repertoire while still in elementary school. Beginning formal music training at the age of ten, he studied trumpet and was playing professionally while still in High School. He worked on theory and harmony with John Sacco, and continued later as a scholarship student of Paul Yartin.

After three years at the Radio Workshop in New York, he enlisted in the Air Force during World War II, and was assigned to the 529th Army Air Force Band. During his three and a half years with this organization, Alfred Reed became deeply interested in the Concert Band and its music. He produced nearly 100 compositions and arrangements for band before leaving the Service. Following his release, he enrolled at the Juilliard School of Music as a student of Vittorio Giannini. In 1948 he became a staff composer and arranger with NBC and, subsequently, ABC in New York, where he wrote and arranged music for radio and television, as well as for record albums and films.

In 1953 Mr. Reed became conductor of the Baylor Symphony Orchestra at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, at the same time completing his interrupted academic work. His Master's thesis was the “Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra,” which later was to win the Luria Prize. It received its first performance in 1959, and was published in 1966. During the two years at Baylor he also became interested in the problems of educational music at all levels, especially in the development of repertoire material for band, orchestra and chorus. This led, in 1955, to his accepting the post of editor in a major publishing firm. He left this position in September, 1966, to join the faculty of the School of Music at the University of Miami, as Professor of Music, holding a joint appointment in the Theory Composition and Music Education Departments, and to develop the Unique Music Merchandising Degree Program at that institution.

With over 200 published works for Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Chorus and various smaller chamber music groups, many of which have been on the required performance lists, Dr. Reed was one of the nation's most prolific and frequently performed composers. His work as a guest conductor and clinician has taken him to 40 states, Europe, Canada, Mexico, and South America, and for six consecutive years, six of his works have been on the required list of music for all Concert Bands in Japan. He left New York for Miami, Florida, in 1960, where he has made his home ever since. In the Fall of 1980, following the retirement of Dr. Frederick Fennell, Dr. Reed was appointed conductor and music director of the University of Miami Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

Alan Crockwell, a biology teacher at The Carollton School in Coconut Grove, moved from Buffalo to Miami in 1977. Crockwell co-founded the Miami Memorabilia Collector's Club in 1991. He has published numerous articles on Miami history and its collectibles.

Helen Muir was a prominent Miami journalist and author who actively supported libraries in south Florida.

She was born in Yonkers, New York, in 1911, and moved to Miami in 1934. She married William Muir, who worked as a lawyer in Miami, and the couple had three children. Helen Muir passed away in 2006.

Muir worked as a columnist for the Universal Service Syndicate from 1935-1938, and wrote for the Miami News and Miami Herald newspapers until 1965. In addition to writing columns, she was the children’s book editor for the Miami Herald and the drama critic and women’s editor of the Miami News. She also wrote for national magazines, such as the Saturday Evening Post, Nation’s Business, and Women’s Day.

She authored several books, including Miami, U.S.A., which was first published in 1953 and revised in 1990. Another book, The Biltmore: Beacon for Miami, was published in 1987 and updated in 1993 and 1997. Her third book, Frost in Florida: A Memoir, was published in 1995, and details the friendship she and her family developed with Robert Frost while he wintered in Miami.

Helen Muir was also active in the local community, especially libraries. She served on the boards of the Miami-Dade County Public Library System and the Friends of the University of Miami Libraries, and she also chaired the State Library Advisory Council. She won numerous awards for her work and service, and was inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame in 1984.